A Royal End
by Phoenix of Starlight
Summary: When Bel and Fran are kicked out of the Varia, they must face the challenges of convincing Xanxus that their love doesn't weaken them. Sixth fanfiction in the 'A Royal-' series, and the grand finale of season 1. B26, XS, 6918
1. Chapter 1: Fired

A Royal End Chapter One

I'm baaack. Hehe~! LOVE being on vacation, I get stuff written SO QUICKLY! *cough* when I'm inspired. *cough*

ALL RIGHT! This THE LAST fanfiction in the 'A Royal-' series! It's taken me a year to get this far, but... :') It didn't last long enough... I guess that's kind of my fault too, with all of those updates on 'A Royal Fall.' ...

Anyway! For new readers of the series, allow me to say the fanfictions in order: (A Royal) Meeting, Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall, and THIS is A Royal End.

If you haven't read the other fanfictions, the worst that can really happen is confusion when I reference the other fics. Tis your choice!

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><p>(This fic begins a week after Xanxus's revival.)<p>

"Bel, Fran, I called you into my office for a very serious reason."

Mist and Storm glanced at each other, and Bel broke the 'serious' mood with the remark, "We're out of ice cream?"

Fran snorted, then laughed a little, and punched the prince's shoulder for making him look uncool as the only person laughing in the area. Frowning, Xanxus said, "No, Belphegor, I'm talking about this."

Xanxus pushed two papers over to the youngest of the Varia, and they looked at it, confused. "What's this...," Fran murmured. "Resignment papers...?"

"That's right. I'm giving you two the boot," Xanxus said, clasping his hands together over the table. "Bel, Fran, we're going to be nice and not kill you, but you are no longer Varia."

"But boss-"

"No excuses. I've watched us progress. I've watched the Varia grow... and grow weaker, as well."

Fran stood upright. "Weaker? Because of us?" he shouted, "Xanxus, this is a mistake! Senpai is an irreplaceable Varia! And me! I need to save Hibari in the future! How can I do that if you kick us out?"

"Don't push it, Fran," Xanxus growled. "You leave tonight. Take whatever you need from your rooms, just make sure you're gone by morning."

Bel stood up, grabbing Fran's arm, and dragged the illusionist out of the room. "Senpai, wait-," Fran started, but Bel hushed him.

"Fran... there's nothing we can do to change his mind," he muttered, "so let's go pack up."

When they came up to their room, Squalo was waiting beside it. "What do you want, fish-face?" Fran snapped. Squalo looked down.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, "Don't blame me. I don't know whether you heard this already, but Xanxus broke up with me a couple days ago. I think... he's set on getting rid of all love in the Varia. ... When you're done packing, come see me. I've got some provisions for you. All of us, really, decided to help out... Luss got you guys some food, Mammon and I both put together some money for you... we want you to be safe."

"Thanks for your concern," Fran said. "Come on, senpai, let's pack..."

"Right," Bel mumbled, following the illusionist into their room. As soon as they stepped in, Fran teared up.

"Senpai... we don't have anywhere to go...," he sighed.

"We'll figure something out, don't worry," Bel replied, placing a hand on his lover's back. "Come on, Fran, we're a team. We can overcome anything, ne?"

The illusionist looked at the prince, and hugged him tightly, giving gentle sniffles as he couldn't stop the horrors of life on their own from flowing into his mind.

"Senpai... I'm scared," he whispered, "but... you're right. We can do this..."

"Hurry up, we need to pack," Bel coaxed, "get a few changes of clothes, any box weapons, and... hm... well, anything that'll help us."

"Okay...," Fran breathed, backing out of his embrace.

Later...

"Okay, Squalo, we're ready," Bel said, walking out of the room, Fran close behind.

"All right, come here," Squalo replied, leading the two away. "Xanxus is completing the paperwork; he has no idea we're doing this, but it doesn't matter if he finds out- Levi will probably tell him anyway. But just know, Bel, Fran, we want you to thrive without us."

"Thank you," Fran murmured, holding his prince's hand as they strode down the halls.

They came out into the living room, and, just as Squalo had said, Lussuria and Mammon were waiting for the three of them. "Oh, Fran-chan, Bel-chan, I'm so sorry this had to happen," Lussuria said, standing. "Bossu is out of his mind, ne?"

"He sure is," Fran muttered.

"Come here, you two," Mammon called. Bel and Fran walked over to everyone, and sat down on the couch with their bags. "Squalo and I both chipped in; we're giving you six thousand euros."

"Thanks," Bel and Fran said in sync as a briefcase was handed to them.

"And I got you some foods that should last you until you get yourselves a good home," Lussuria said, handing them another bag. "I'm sorry if that's a bit much to carry...," he murmured.

"It's fine, Luss," Bel said, "I've got it..."

"Well, we're going to miss you...," Squalo said, looking away. "Really... Bel, you're one of our greatest members, and Fran, oh, Fran, you always cheer us up."

"You two are always a refreshing sight in the morning," Lussuria added. "When I see you two together, it just reminds me that we're not a bunch of uncivilized, dirty brutes. We're a bunch of Mafiosi who are capable of LOVE, Fran-chan, Bel-chan."

"Fran, we're good friends," Mammon said. "We've been friends for a couple years, too. And Bel... you're the love of my life. I'm really going to miss seeing your face every day."

The Arcobaleno blushed as he made the confession, and looked away as Squalo had, but Lussuria continued to look at the two with pity. "We're glad to have you guys see us off," Fran said, "I still can't believe we're just... being kicked off the Varia."  
>"Calm down," Squalo sighed, "and be glad you weren't shot."<p>

"I was shot once," Lussuria said in a quiet voice.

"Hey, you guys."

The five turned to see Xanxus, who was standing at the door, a pistol in his hand. "Out."

Fran and Bel stood, and Mammon reached for the door with a tentacle and opened it. "Bye, guys," he said.

"Voi! Hold up!" Squalo said. Xanxus glared at him, but he was ignored, and Squalo walked up to Bel, hugged him tightly, and did the same to Fran. "Good luck," he said, backing off. "And I hope to see you around."

"Oh, let me hug you too!" Lussuria squealed, before glomping Fran. The illusionist allowed it, and allowed the same to happen to Bel. Mammon appeared to be too submissive to Xanxus's frustration to hug the two before their sendoff.

"Go," Xanxus hissed. Squalo and Lussuria gave their boss a mere glance before they led Bel and Fran out of the headquarters.

"Sorry," Squalo murmured. "So... so sorry."

"Bye, Squalo, Luss," Fran said, "we'll remember you."

"Yeah... bye, you two," Bel said, "and bye, Monta!"

"Bye, Bel!" Mammon called.

"Hurry... go," Squalo said.

Bel and Fran nodded, then walked away, leaving their former teammates to settle things with Xanxus.

It was the beginning of a long war.

-End Chapter

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><p>Please review~!<p> 


	2. Chapter 2: Breakfast

A Royal End Chapter Two

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><p>"Yes, we would like to rent one bedroom," Bel said. He paused, before saying, "Stop staring at us like that! Haven't you seen a gay couple in your life?"<p>

"Oh- uh- okay, sure, one room," the man answered. "Name?"

"God, you're nosey," Bel muttered, taking out an I.D. and handing it over. "Hurry it up."

"Senpai," Fran murmured, "be nice."

Bel snorted as his I.D. was returned, and took the room key with a satisfied expression. "Let's go," he said to Fran.

"Thank you, sir," Fran said to the man at the counter, who nodded tiredly.

They soon got to their room, and Bel grinned at the small, single bed. "That stupid commoner barely gave us any wriggle room," he said.

"Calm down, senpai, you love it like this," Fran sighed.

Bel walked over to the bed and sat down, then patted the space beside him. "I know it's only four, and we haven't had dinner, but I'm exhausted," he told his lover. Fran nodded and headed to the bed as well, then sat down as close as possible to Bel without sitting in his lap.

"Let's try out the bed."

Bel grinned, then gave a gentle giggle. "You make the prince think things."

"Ever think I was trying to imply something? Fake-prince senpai?" Fran said, smirking. Bel stared at Fran for a moment, wondering where the hell his adorable kouhai learned how to do such a thing, before he leaned in and kissed the other man.

"It's been a while," he whispered against Fran's lips.

"Just long enough," Fran husked, "my prince."

"Fran..."

And they had a fairly good night to make up for their day.

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><p>Morning...<p>

"Nn...," Fran moaned gently, rolling on to his side and snuggling up into his lover's chest. "Senpai..."

"Fran," Bel murmured, stroking through the teal hair. "We need to start planning today."

"Hm?"

"You know. To get back in the Varia. We can't live like this for very long," the prince said, "even though it would be a lot of fun."

"Hehe," Fran chuckled, "all right... I've got something."

"Say it," Bel invited.

"We take them on," Fran said, sitting up. "Bel and Fran versus the Varia."

"We can't beat them!" Bel replied, following the kouhai's lead and sitting upright. "Are you crazy?"

"No," Fran said simply, gazing at Bel with the usual deadpan. "It would take training, but if we were to work together to take out individual members of the Varia... wouldn't that prove to Xanxus how powerful a bond is?"

Bel considered for a moment. "We'd need to use your future techniques, Froggy," he replied. Fran shrugged.

"Sure, if we're fighting in a secluded place."

"We'd need a place to train."

"I have some connections."

The prince stared at his kouhai for a moment. "Then... you're serious?"

"I'm dead serious, senpai," Fran replied, reaching for the prince's hand. "Dead serious."

"... All right, I'm in," Bel said, and locked his fingers around Fran's, "But don't expect very good results when we fight the people who funded our exile."

"I know," Fran said, "I don't. Fighting Mammon and fish-face, even Lussuria, that'll be difficult. That's why I say we attack Levi first. Make him crawl back to Hq on his stomach so he can tell the story. That'll get them riled up enough to retaliate."

"Shishishi~ the prince wonders why his froggy was never appointed to strategy captain," Bel giggled. Grinning, he wrapped an arm around Fran's shoulders. "How about we go on a date before that, though?"

"Sure, where?" Fran said.

The prince hopped off the bed and started to change clothes. "Out to breakfast. Just get a few euros out of the case and we'll be good."

"Okay," Fran replied, standing and taking his shirt off. "Just a sec..."

"Shishi~ Our last dinner date was crappy. The prince hopes this one is better."

"Oh shut up."

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><p>Later...<p>

"Your server will be right with you," said the woman, before walking away.

"Hah... this feels weird...," Fran said, folding his arms on the table and resting head on them.

"How so?" Bel asked, crossing his legs.

"You know... not being Mafia," Fran replied, "we're like regular hobos, almost."

"Ushishishishi, I'm a hobo pri-"

"Don't start," the illusionist snapped, "I had enough of that when Luss burned down the Hq."

"Shishishi," Bel giggled, "it's still fun."

Fran smiled and murmured, "Silly senpai."

Bel gave another small laugh, when their moment was interrupted by a voice. "Hello, my name is Rasiel, what can I get you today?" The two looked up, immediately suprised by the voice, and Bel's jaw almost hit the table. There was an awkward pause as they stared at the man beside them, before he said, "All right, are you ladies going to just sit there, lovestruck, or are you going to order?"

"Jil! Stop insulting the customers! I'm watching you!" called a voice from an artificial plant. Rasiel rolled his eyes.

"I, the prince, will have strawberry ice-"

"Senpai, we're not at home," Fran interrupted, "so just have scrambled eggs or something."

"Fine," Bel said, "I'll have bacon and eggs."

"Nice american breakfast for the prince," Fran snickered. "I'm not that hungry, I'll just have an order of fried rice and water."

"Shesheshe, sure. And by the way," Rasiel said, "how are you?"

"Good," Bel and Fran said at the same time, and their waiter nodded, grinning, before walking away.

"He better get it right, Bel muttered.

"Aren't you suprised to see him here?" Fran asked.

"Well of course," Bel said, "but it's not a big deal. At least he's brightened up and he's not trying to rule Italy."

"Poor guy," Fran murmured, "he's a killer working at a restaurant."

"Don't pity the loser," Bel replied, leaning back. "He's got a job."

"True."

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><p>Meanwhile...<p>

"Ugh... so tired...," Squalo growled as he walked into the dining room. "Voi, brats, I- oh... right..."

"Squ-chan," Lussuria greeted, coming out of the kitchen. "How'd you sleep?"

"Terrible," the Rain guardian spat. "Freaking boss gave me a crappy room."

The flamboyant Sun heaved a sigh. "I'm considering not cooking breakfast for everyone today," he said. "What do you think?"

Squalo shook his head and shrugged. "We could go out to breakfast," he suggested. "Ditch Xanxus and Levi here."

"Good idea," said Mammon, heading in as well. "Let's go out. Maybe we'll see Bel and Fran."

"I wouldn't get my hopes up," Lussuria replied. "I'll bet their out searching for jobs or something."

"I say we go down to the sushi place," Squalo announced.

"Oh, or we could go out for pasta," Lussuria said.

"As long as it's not SUPER expensive...," Mammon tagged on.

The three grinned at each other, and headed out.

A little later, Xanxus walked into the kitchen to find Levi, and Levi alone. "Where's the other trash?" he asked.

"Out," Levi muttered. "Probably went out to breakfast or something."

Xanxus frowned, then walked over to the kitchen. He was lucky that he could cook.

-End Chapter

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><p>:) Okay, I am TOO inspired. XD I ought to work on something else for a bit... ne?<p>

Please review!


	3. Chapter 3: More Training

A Royal End Chapter Three

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><p>The next day, Varia Hq.<p>

"What the hell are you playing at?" Xanxus asked Lussuria, shoving the plate of pancakes back.

"I think it's rather cute," Mammon told the boss. "Good work, Luss."

"It's stupid," Levi said.

Squalo sighed as he looked at his plate, with one pancake shaped like a frog, and the other shaped like a bell. "I miss them," he murmured to Lussuria, who was seated right beside him. "They gave us such a relaxed air."

"Yeah," Lussuria replied, looking down. "It's a real letdown to not have them around."

Squalo stabbed a fork into his breakfast. "Freaking boss."

Xanxus glared at Squalo from across the table, but the Rain guardian ignored him.

The Varia were more separated than ever before.

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><p>Meanwhile...<p>

"Where are we?" Bel asked as Fran led him into a wide, open room.

"It's a place where Master used to take me to practice my illusions. We can brainstorm working together like this."

Bel smiled. "Good idea. Now where to start..."

"Where, indeed..."

The prince cracked into a cheshire grin. "I got it. Froggy, how do you feel about learning how to use knives and wires?"

Fran smiled. "How about no?"

"Ushishi~ Then, how about this?" Bel started. "I throw my knives from an odd angle, and you make an illusion to make them look more direct."

"Uhh... okay, listen to this," Fran said. "We mix flames."

"Hm?"

"I could use Mist flames to hide your storm flames, and that way, we could use invisible flames to attack."

"It sounds good, but that would kill them. We can't do that," Bel replied, "... Hmm... we could... use telepathy?"

"I have trouble activating it," Fran replied.

"Then... we can use your Hell ring, accompanied with my knives...," the prince said. "Like... a sort of... trap."

"Hm?"

"Light it," Bel said, "as much as you can with control."

Fran lit his Hell ring all the way, and sat down on the ground, curling his black, scaly demon tail close. Bel grinned, then fanned out more than ten knives in a single hand. "Can you cast an illusion of a target in that demon form?" The illusionist ran on all fours to a large rock in the center of the room, and made large, deep claw marks in it. After making a satisfying gash in it, he returned.

"Use that," he hissed. Bel smiled widely, his knives glowing in the area, before he threw one into the side of the stone, and he nodded in approval.

"Okay, Froggy. Get going."

Fran ran out to the target, and Bel threw a few knives, purposely missing. Fran didn't catch what he was expected to do, and he dodged, snarling with anger at Bel. Still frustrated at the prince's miss, he wrapped his tail around the hilt of the knife, and tossed it back. "Get it right, you maniac!" he growled. Bel sighed.

"Fran! Use the steel pads on your hands to turn them!" he said, throwing another, this time for Fran. The demon stopped, then held out his hand, curved, and it directed the knife into the stone. He stared.

"Oh."

Bel laughed, and threw two more, and Fran redirected those as well, grinning as he got the hang of it. "Now curve them into the wall!" Bel called. Fran did as told when the next pair came up, and a small snap occured as the thin wire broke on the rough edge of stone. "Ah, that'll work good on people," Bel said, "and make sure you're attacking through the fight, too, Fran!"

Fran grinned, showing off his pure white fangs, before he lashed his tail over the rock, breaking some of it down.

A while later, Bel and Fran had perfected several new techniques, and were ready to go home- or rather, back to the hotel.  
>"Mm... good job, senpai," Fran said, taking his Hell ring off. "I'm exhausted."<p>

"Me too," Bel replied, "but you know, we did good. We need to find out when Levi does his next mission."

"I say we ignore that and just look for him. You'll probably be able to smell him."

"No... I'll hack into their computer system. I know Squalo's Varia code for the system... so if I could just get to the login page on my laptop..."

"Which you brought?" Fran asked.

"Of course," Bel said, "I've got things on there."

Fran stared for a moment, shrugged, and said, "Okay. Go ahead and hack it."

Bel took a second to stare, then took his laptop from it's case and turned away from Fran, blushing lightly. "No peeking," he said. Fran rolled his eyes.

"All right, mister secretive."

Bel giggled gently as his desktop appeared- a picture that he'd manage to sneak of Fran while he was changing, and opened the Varia database, before logging in as Squalo.

'Are you really Superbia Squalo?' the screen read. 'How long is your hair?'

'Way longer than it should be,' Bel typed. He grinned as he was admitted into the system, then clicked on an icon that said, 'Recent assignments.'

'Lussuria: Nov. 12- Sicily- Take down organization of people who used to support Millefiore. -COMPLETE-'

'Levi A Than: Nov. 24- In the area- Assassinate man who was impersonating member of Vongola. Will be by night club at 9:00 PM. -IN PROGRESS-'

Bel grinned. "Froggy, we have a date tomorrow."

"Ooh, where?"

"Shishishi. The dance club."

Fran smiled and leaned back in his bed, pulling the covers over him. "Cool," he said. "How about we go to sleep now?"

"Okay," Bel agreed, logging out and shutting his laptop. He snuggled up close to Fran, lifting an arm over the smaller man's body, and came closer, before kissing his cheek. "Love you, Froggy," he murmured.

"Love you too, senpai," Fran replied. The illusionist leaned in and returned Bel's kiss, simultaneously tugging the sheets up further. Bel reached up and cupped Fran's cheek, sealing the other's lips as he moved his body a little closer, and heatedly swept his tongue over the illusionist's lips, before he was granted an immediate entrance. But naturally, the prince had to back away much too soon.

"Fran...," Bel whispered. "No matter what, we're going to make it through this... okay?"

"I know we are," Fran answered, hugging his prince close. "I have no doubts."

"Another thing, Fran...," the blonde began once more. "When we fight Levi- we'll encounter him on the path to that dance club- just know that I'll be watching you. I won't let anyone hurt you... ever. I'll protect you to the best of my ability... because I can't stand to see you hurt, Fran."

The illusionist looked deep into Bel's eyes and kissed him once more, happy to hear how protective his prince was. "Senpai," he replied, "I'm going to fight tomorrow. And I don't want you to get hurt because of me, so... don't worry. If we're going to fight the Varia... we can't fear injury."

Bel hesitantly nodded. "You're right... he mumbled. "We can't."

"But senpai..."

"Hm?"

"I hope you realize that I'll be looking out for you, too," Fran said, and his prince grinned widely.

"Shishishi. I know."

-End Chapter

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><p>Glad you're well again, peppermint twertle! I'm hoping for some extra energetic reviews! ;P<p>

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!


	4. Chapter 4: B26 Versus Levi A Than

A Royal Fall Chapter Four

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><p>The Day of Battle One: Bel and Fran versus Levi A Than.<p>

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><p>"Nn... senpai...," Fran sighed, rolling over. "I'm huuuungryyyy."<p>

"Ushishi," Bel laughed softly, "then why don't we check out the room service?"

"Sure," the illusionist mumbled. He sat up and reached an arm around Bel's waist as the prince began to dial, and Bel paused, then grinned at Fran. "What's the creepy look for, senpai?" Fran asked.

"Oh, nothing," Bel said, putting the phone against his ear. "Just that Froggy's got his hand on the prince's hip." Fran snorted at the prince's immaturity, and rested his head on the blonde's shoulder as he began to talk. "Do you have ice cream? Yeah, I want strawberry ice cream and... hm. Pancakes, I guess."

Fran rolled his eyes.

"You will? Thanks~. How much will that be? Oh, okay... thanks again." Bel hung up, and moved his arm around Fran's shoulders. "I'll get the door when they get here."

"Okay," Fran breathed. "Hey, senpai...we're fighting tonight, aren't we?"

"Yeah."

"Are you worried?" Fran asked. "About fighting him?"

"No... I won't be worried until we fight Monta or Squalo," Bel replied, "Levi's a drama queen- even more so than Luss, sometimes, and Lussuria's loss in the Vongola kind of proves that he's our weakest member."

"Hmm."

"Fran... are you scared of fighting your teammates?" Bel questioned, looking into his lover's eyes. Fran shook his head, not meeting the prince's gaze.

"It's hard," he said. "But not impossible."

Bel leaned in and kissed his kouhai's cheek, then moved on to the Mist's lips instead, tugging the younger man's body into a hug as he went. Halfway into a pleasant, deep kiss, however, they were interrupted by the ever-so-cliche, "Room service!" at the door.

Slightly frustrated, Bel pushed Fran back, grinned at his pout, and stumbled (gracefully) out of bed to get the door. "Senpai, you're hardly dressed-," Fran called, but his warning was just a moment late.

"Thanks," Bel said, swinging the door wide open so that the staff member had the pleasing view of his topless form.

"Uh- you're welcome," she said, her face flushed, and Fran shouted for Bel to get back in the room with their food. Bel tried to slip in that Fran was his boyfriend as he dragged the cart in, but it didn't go over so well.

"Senpai, you have to learn that people aren't used to handsome young men discussing their boyfriends," Fran said, wrapping a blanket around himself as he went to get the door.

"Ushishi~ I'm just so proud of my Froggy, being so brave to order the prince around..."

"I've been doing that for a long time now, senpai," Fran sighed.

Bel stared at his ice cream for a good long time before he finally attacked it with passion. "It's been so long!" he announced, "Ushishi~!"

"Senpai, it's been two days," Fran replied, taking his plate of food to the bed. "Can we go out later?"

"Where?" Bel asked.

"I dunno, just... 'out,'" Fran said. "Take a walk."

"Maybe later."

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><p>Night...<p>

"Senpai... what time should we expect him?" Fran asked, knives in hand.

"Nine," Bel replied, equally equipped with weapons. "Just a few more minutes before he crosses through here..."

Fran trembled, and leaned against Bel. "I'm a little scared," he murmured. Bel hushed him, placing his hand on Fran's back.

"We'll be fine," he replied, "so don't worry..."

Fran nodded, before suddenly perking up. "Senpai... listen..."

"I hear it..."

A crackling noise from their left could be heard, and Bel nudged his lover. "Go on the other side. Quickly!" he urged. Fran nodded and dashed across Levi's path, and set up a wall of Mist flames to prevent the Lightning guardian from passing them over as he lit his Hell ring.

"Who's there?" the gruff voice shouted as the crackling died down. "Show yourself, coward!" Bel stepped out from hiding and threw a knife, which Levi saw and dodged easily, but he hadn't anticipated it to turn and hit him in the side. The man groaned, agitated, and glared at Bel. "What the hell are you doing? Boss will hear about you attacking me! He'll kill you!"

Fran had already transformed into a demon, and he rushed out at Levi, attacking him from behind with a fearsome headbutt that pushed horns into his back. Levi hissed with pain, and Fran backed away as the man turned, an electric umbrella equipped. He stabbed at Fran with the weapon, and the demon hissed as Lightning-class flames shocked him. Bel stepped in instantly, and stabbed Levi several times before Fran was released. Infuriated, Levi shouted and injected his flames into his box weapon, and his Lightning class... what was that, a manta ray...? appeared. The forest trees were set ablaze as the creature released a burst of flames, and the fighting couple began to attack more enthusiastically.

Bel threw a knife and shouted, "Trees!" to Fran, who obediently turned the knife, and the one following, into trees. The result was a pleasing scissor effect, that rendered both of Levi's arms useless with the prince-and-frog-combination's aim. The man shouted angrily with pain, and Bel threw the finale into Levi's stomach. It was a knife that Fran had stretched with illusions, making it slimmer, and capable of holding a note to it.

"Go back to headquarters," Fran hissed as Levi's flames died out. "And tell them what happened to you here."

Bel and Fran both shoved Levi on his trail, and walked away.

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><p>Levi A Than crawled back to Headquarters, the knife still in his stomach as he moved, and he started scratching on the door wildly. "Boss... Help me, boss!"<p>

Lussuria opened the door, and gasped dramatically. "Maa, Levi-chan! You're a MESS!"

The Sun guardian dragged Levi inside, and called for Squalo. "Squ-chan... Squa-chan! Levi-chan got himself beaten to a PULP!"

"VOI! LEVI, YOU IDIOT!" Squalo screamed, marching into the area when he saw the knife. He reached down, and yanked the weapon out, causing the Lightning guardian to double over with pain. "What the... this is one of Bel's knives!" he shouted. "And... there's a note!"

"What?" Lussuria said, clapping his hands on his cheeks.

Mammon and Xanxus walked into the area, and Xanxus marched over, looking important. "Read it," he snapped at Squalo, "shark trash."

Squalo opened the small paper, and read, "'We have deafeated Levi to show our cooperation as lovers. If you understand, this means that others will fall victim to us. Let us back in the Varia, or it will be your mistake,' it says."

"Damn trash," Xanxus hissed, clenching his fist. "Think they're so strong. We'll get them back."

Lussuria, Squalo and Mammon stared at each other, worried, and nodded quietly at Xanxus. "We'll get them," they murmured.

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><p>Bel sat down beside Fran. "You okay?" he asked, looking at the burn mark on the other's chest. Fran nodded.<p>

"Lightning flames aren't as bad as yours, senpai."

The prince sighed, touching the wound lightly. "Oh, Fran," he sighed, "I really hope we can do this." The illusionist smiled.

"We can do anything, senpai. Don't worry."

Bel grinned. "Can we... order room service at midnight?"

His lover chuckled for a moment.

"No. We can't."

-End Chapter

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><p>Woo! Okay, I don't think I'll manage a lot of chapters today... I have homework. But whatever; I uploaded on Thanksgiving!<p>

So PLEASE REVIEW!

Special A/N: For those of you who read the reviews to my stories, know that NeverMakeSense, pervert and harasser, is mistaken in calling me a 'furry.' I do not feel sexual attraction to any animals. I happen to be fond of wolves in the sense that they are beautiful creatures, however, I do not have any abnormal feelings for such animals. It would seem that NeverMakeSense assumes this of animal-lovers, and this is a sad fact. Please do not think of me of me in a bad way because of her immature harrassment.


	5. Chapter 5: Cooking with the Prince

A Royal End Chapter Five

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><p>"SENPAI!" Fran shouted, running cold water over his arm. The prince came running, but sighed when he saw what had taken place.<p>

"Froggy, aren't you more careful than that?" he said. "Let me see." Bel surveyed the cut, and placed his sleeve over it to test its sensitivity.

"Ow- senpai," Fran protested, "that hurts..."

"Sorry," Bel sighed, touching the area as carefully as he could. "It's not exactly easy to be gentle when your treating a burn wound."

Fran whimpered as the prince wrapped a bandage around his arm, and muttered, "Stupid cheap stove..."

"We should just be ordering room service," Bel replied. "Besides, Froggy's epic cooking isn't meant for commoner's cooking utensils."

"Well thanks, senpai, but we'll go broke easily if we try to live off of room service," Fran sighed. "I'm fine... really..."

Bel looked at the illusionist for a moment, then sighed, and pushed him back. "I've got it. Go rest."

"Senpai, you can't cook," Fran pointed out. "I'll just-"

"I'm going to cook, Fran," Bel said firmly, indicating to the bed. The illusionist hesitantly did so, and watched as Bel got rid of the overcooked food and went into the closet, where they had stored yesterday's groceries. The prince got out a few foods and thought hard, his face scrunched up as he tried to figure out what he would need. Moments later, Bel had an epiphany and grinned, before getting to work. Fran continued to observe the princely chef as he found out how to make toast without a toaster, make tomato juice without a blender, cook flies, and spill milk the RIGHT way, until he'd had enough.

"Senpai, come on, you don't know the first thing about cooking!"

"Then coach me," Bel replied, using a wad of napkins to clean up his mess.

"What are you trying to make?" Fran asked.

"Something edible," the prince said obviously as he sniffed his charred piece of bread. He scrunched up his face, and the blackened toast went into the trash.

"Well, you're failing at it," Fran muttered, hopping off of the bed and approaching the area with caution.

Bel grinned and said, "I could always just have Froggy for lunch-"

"Stay off me, senpai, and learn something," Fran said, taking off his hat and placing it firmly on Bel's head as he took a slice of bread. As Bel struggled to get his tiara off his head before the frog hat swallowed it, Fran explained the procedures for making a (-hold your breath-) tomato sandwich with butter, for they were low on ingredients.

(You may now exhale.)

Fran paused when he felt something land on his head, and glanced at Bel, who wore Fran's hat with pride and said in failing monotone, "Go on, Bel-senpai." The illusionist blushed with the realization that what was on his head was most likely a certain someone's 'crown,' and tried to put on a cheshire face, which amused the prince.

"Shishishi," he began, trying not to deadpan on his words, "All righty, Froggy, I was saying that you need to be careful with tomatoes. They don't cut as easy as human skin, ne?"

"But of course, handsome, princely senpai," Bel replied. Fran glanced at the Storm, noticing how the older man was trying to fix his hair to match his own. The Mist lazily swept his bangs into his vision and began again.

"Think of a sandwich this way: I'm this slice of bread, and you're that slice of bread, and the tomatoes are y- I mean, my brother."

"Senpai, question," Bel said, raising his hand. "Why the hell are we sandwiching your brother?"

"We're killing him, silly Froggy," the illusionist replied. "That's why he's all red."

"Uh, okay, senpai...," Bel murmured, though he still looked a tad confused. He then broke into a grin and said, "Beautiful, princely, sexy senpai who I love so so much from the bottom of my heart and I'll never leave because you're ever-so-hot and Mukuro's an ugly pineapple who looks like a girl-"

"Give me my hat back," Fran said, holding out his hand.

"Aww," Bel pouted, hesitantly taking the hat off. Fran took it and placed Bel's tiara back where it belonged, then put on his own hat. "Did you learn something from that?" Bel asked.

"Yeah. I'd look pretty bad with blonde hair, and your bangs don't work for me."

Bel frowned like it wasn't the answer he had been hoping for, but then smiled and said, "Thanks for teaching the prince about cooking."

"Yeah. Now eat this, cuz I don't like tomatoes," Fran said, handing Bel the sandwich and walking back for the bed.

"Isn't Froggy gonna eat something?" Bel asked.

"I'm not that hungry," Fran replied, crossing his legs and yawning. Bel watched as Fran tiredly reached to rub at his eyes, and wondered how it was that a twenty four year old man could look so... adorable. Fran was certainly the odd one, with his feminine appearance and unusually young face. Maybe all of his deadpanning helped keep his face from stretching out?

It sure was intresting.

KNOCK KNOCK.

The couple looked curiously to the door, and Bel went to answer, holding knives up his sleeves as he cracked the door open. "Eh- what are you doing here?" Bel asked as he saw the person.

"Delivering," they answered, grinning widely. Fran hopped over to the door, and frowned.

"Senpai, what's your idiot brother doing here?"

"Delivering," Bel replied, "I guess."

Rasiel held up a basket, which Bel hesitantly took. "I don't know what you guys are doing here, or why your boss came by our restaurant looking for you, and I'm not going to pry. But I want you guys to know that... if you ever need my help, I'm here, okay?"

"Okay, whatever, close the door, senpai," Fran said. Bel gave him a glance, then opened the door wider, stepping aside.

"Come inside. We'll tell you," he said, gesturing for his brother to enter the room. Rasiel stepped in, thanking Bel, and the younger prince looked uncertainly at Fran. "Hey, Froggy, how about you let me tell him, and you can go out for a bit?"

"Why's that?" Fran asked, cocking his head in confusion. "Why can't I listen?"

"It's a brother's thing, Froggy, just let us catch up... please?"

Fran snorted and left the room. "Don't expect me to not flirt with other guys while I'm out!" he called. Bel grinned and closed the door.

"I know he won't," he chuckled. He walked over to the bed and sat down, patting the space beside him, and Rasiel sat down obediently. "Me first," Bel said, "why are you working in a restaurant?"

"I couldn't find any other occupation," Rasiel said simply. "Why are you in a hotel?"

"Got kicked out of the Varia," Bel muttered. "Why would you help us?"

"I've got a criminally low salary. I could use a few extra euros. What can I do for you?"

"Nothing," Bel said firmly, standing. "We don't need your help. Get out."

Rasiel frowned, but he understood his brother's hostility. After the incident that brought him back from the dead for the second time, Bel had had quite enough of his meddling, and had hoped not to see him again.

The sun wasn't shining on Bel at the moment, and Rasiel could respect that. Sighing, he left the room, and Fran came in shortly after.

"Well that wasn't much to make me wait for," Fran said. "What, did you guys just peck each other on the cheek and say your goodbyes?"

"No, I told him off," Bel replied. "I didn't want him butting in to our plan. Jil isn't trustworthy."

Fran gazed at his prince, then nodded, and yawned. "Man, why am I so tired?" he wondered aloud.

"Probably because we were up late dealing with Levi."

"It wasn't that late...," Fran muttered, lying down on the bed. "I'm going to laze for a little..."

"Go ahead, my kouhai," Bel soothed, rubbing the other's back. He smiled as Fran closed his eyes, and continued to make the small movement until the younger man seemed to be dozing, at which point he backed off the bed slowly. "Sweet dreams, Froggy," he whispered, before walking outside, cell phone in hand.

Bel walked out of the room and dialed someone, then placed the phone against his ear as he closed the door behind him. "Hello, I saw your advertisements, and I'm highly intrested... wait, how many? Wha- four hundred thousand euros? Eh- yeah, I'm... I'm still intrested, but... that's a bit much for my current situation..." The prince shuffled as he thought, and said, "Okay... okay, yeah. No, I can work something out... Oh, no, I have a boyfriend who would be staying with me. ... I could? Yeah, that's fine with me... but there will be a few nights where I can't. ... No, I won't tell him... he's asleep right now- I want it all to be a suprise, you know? ... Thanks so much. I'll come in tonight... and how much can I pay off per night? ... Ah, that's great. Yeah. Thanks again."

Bel hung up, grinning, and folded his arms.

"And he thought that my social abilities were terrible!"

-End Chapter

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><p>Phew! Okay, I'm done with this chapter... I'd like to 'laze for a little,' too, but I can't. DX<p>

I'm going to start something new for my 'Royal Reviewers' just cause I feel like it! :)

Challenge for the engaged reader: Write up the other side of the conversation in your review and see if you're close! I don't expect word-for-word, of course. XP (Answer will be given at end of fanfic.)

Please review!


	6. Chapter 6: River Villas and Princemas's

**A Royal Spring **

**Chapter Six**

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><p>Bel walked into the building, and gave the man a bow. "I take it you're mister Leo... Leo... uhh..."<p>

"Leopold."

"Yeah."

"Yes, sir. You're here for work?"

"For now," Bel replied, "I want to pay off that payment we discussed on the phone."

"But of course."

"What can I do?"

Leopold was a strangely PLAIN looking man, with short-cut brown hair, and a black, business-like suit. He was poorly built- not the kind of person Bel was used to working with, and had a gruff voice that reminded the prince sorely of his former boss. "How much time do you have?" he asked.

Bel thought for a moment, then answered, "I'd say a good four hours."

"All right... hmm... Well, we've got some night clubs out around the streets, and with looks like that, the ladies will be drooling over you. So what I need you to go and pass out flyers for the business."

"Sure," Bel said, following the man over to where a stack of flyers was set out.

"And you should change clothes- not too much, but maybe take off the coat and put on a white one... and a tie. You look good, trust me, but there's always the few touch-ups... tell you what, man, I'll help you out, okay?"

"Sure thing. A prince could always use some 'touching up.' Ushishi~"

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><p>Meanwhile...<p>

"Senpai... where...?" Fran clutched the sheets close, his teeth chattering. He opened his eyes, and sat up. "Senpaaaai?" he called out. When he didn't receive a response, he snorted and picked up Mink's box weapon from the nightstand. Yawning, he lit his ring, and punched flames nto Bel's box. Out came the sleek white mammal, materializing onto the bed. "Mink... come close," Fran whispered, "And act like senpai's head for me."

"Grrauu...," Mink protested, before curling up on the pillow. Fran, frustrated that Bel had ditched him, rested his head beside the white lump of fur, and sighed, hugging the sheets with lonliness.

"Senpai... come back soon, you maniac."

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><p>"Scuze me, miss, you intrested in buying a beautiful villa by the river?" Bel asked, passing the girl a flyer. She blushed and took it.<p>

"Ah, yes... the river...," she mumbled.

The blonde smiled and said, "I'll be awaiting your call."

She giggled and went to go tell all her friends, and Bel grinned, then went to tell others. Sure, he was gay and all, but playing around was something he could do. It was amusing. It made him feel like the prince he was. Besides, as long as they kept off him, he'd be just fine. "Ladies~!" he called, "Are you intrested in a river villa?"

"Oh, certainly," said the lead of a group, reaching out for a flyer. Bel was about to release the paper when her hand came a little too far, and she grasped his wrist, and pulled him closer. "If I can have this dance, I'll buy a villa on the spot."

"Is that so?" Bel said, smirking. Fran wasn't exactly on his mind, neither was the word 'adultery,' but the phrase 'easy pay' was circulating inside his head. He set the flyer on the table, and took the girl's hand. "All right. But you're going to have to promise."

"I promise," she laughed.

Bel, being the flirty guy he was, pulled her out into the dance floor and played the prince part well, even allowing her to get unneccessarily close for certain steps. But he didn't quite pick up on the signals like he should have been, and near the end of the song, that woman wrapped her arms around his neck, and, before he had a chance to realize what she was on to, came in and gave him a fierce kiss that lasted longer than it should've considering Bel's loyalty to Fran. Eventually, however, Bel recognized the action that was taking place, and placed his hands on her shoulders, pushing her back as as he could. Her tongue left his mouth, and he gave an inevitable eyebrow lift in suprise.

"You better buy that villa," he said.

"Oh, not until I get something BETTER than that," she husked. Belphegor gave a moment's thought.

"All right, then, let's go outside...," he whispered, "come now."

She laughed in a high voice, and followed Bel out, clinging to his arm. Bel led her behind the building, and, when she tried to get herself all over his face for the second time, the knife flashed. Blood spurted, and the prince leapt back to avoid staining his white uniform. She gagged and gurgled, choking on her own blood, and doubling over with pain as Bel watched boredly. Not until he was absolutely positive that she would die did he leave, wiping at his lips in disgust.

'She stole what belonged to Fran... no money is worth letting that kind of theft pass by.'

Bel continued on until two in the morning, when there were hardly any citizens walking around on the streets, and returned to his workplace. "Ah, Bel-san!" Leopold said as the prince walked in, "Thanks, we're getting some great sales! Here, it's just your first day, but you've already covered a good portion of that villa! I think with work like tonight's, you'll be able to pay it off in no more than thirty days!"

"Ahh, that's great," Bel said, "but I really should head home now..."

"Oh, but of course!" the man replied, before reaching for, grasping, and vigorously shaking Bel's hand. "Thank you very much, Bel-san!"

Bel took a bow and turned on his heel to leave, calling out, "A Merry Prince-mas to all, and to all a good night!"

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><p>Belphegor opened the door without any more noise than I tiny creak, and stepped inside the room. Throwing his jacket and shirt on the floor, Bel slid into the bed, glad that Fran hadn't seemed to notice him leave. It was two-thirty by then, but Bel wasn't one for consideration to other's feelings. He scooped the younger man into his arms and held him, chuckling quietly when Fran struggled.<p>

"Senpa-"

The cute little yelp was cut off when Bel pressed himself against the illusionist, kissing him fiercely as usual. Upon backing up, he giggled quietly and held Fran's face in his hands, and said, "I love you, Froggy."

"I love you too, sen- mmf!"

And the rest of the night went just as planned.

-End Chapter

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><p>And there you have it! *phew*<p>

I worked extra hard to finish this before the weekend was up, so some extra reviews would be nice!


	7. Chapter 7: Squchan's Night Out

**A Royal End Chapter Seven**

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><p>"Senpai."<p>

"Yes?"

"What the hell are you doing," Fran asked flatly, glaring at the prince, who had woken him up with the sound of his fingers drumming the keyboard of his laptop. Bel grinned, and laughed softly as his frustrated kouhai sat up.  
>"I'm checking out our next target, of course," he gave the late answer. "Looks like we're going to be working a miracle for this."<p>

"How so?" Fran asked. The prince sighed.

"We've got to get Luss away from Squalo, who he's doing the mission alongside."

"Man...," Fran sighed. "I don't want to fight Luss. He's made us food too many times- you get close to those kinds of people!"

"Yeah, he sure could cook. But it doesn't matter, Fran. We need to show Xanxus who we are. We're the Royal Couple!"

"La~ame," Fran sang. Bel frowned and shoved a knife into the kouhai's arm, making sure that he avoided bones and major nerves. He regretted the precaution. "Stupid senpai can't even stab his lover the right way," Fran snorted. "You've sooo lost your thorns, Prince the Pansy."

"Shut up," Bel snapped, before calming himself. "We shouldn't fight before it's neccessary."

"Yeah," Fran agreed. "Anyway, Luss is a musclehead like the Vongola dude, so we're gonna have to go long range on 'im, I think."

"I don't know... I want to be able to have you use your Hell ring still," Bel mumbled. The illusionist shrugged.

He replied, "Let's try and use Mink."

"Mink?" Bel repeated. "Well... I don't know... but we can try..."

"That's all we need to do, is try," Fran said. "We'll get Luss on his own, no worries. We can get him when he's out shopping, too, you know."

"Mm hm."

Fran suddenly noticed something on the night stand, and leaned over Bel to get it. But before he could, Bel grabbed his wrist. "Watcha doin', Froggy?" he asked.

"Uh... what's that?" Fran asked, nodding at the flyer.

"Nothing," Bel snapped, suddenly lighting his Storm ring and setting the paper on fire.

"Senpai, what the hell are you doing?" Fran deadpanned, glaring at the prince. "Talk about suspiscious! Are you cheating on me?"

"No!" Bel exclaimed. "Of course not! I would never, Fran, you know that!"

Fran stared at the prince, then leaned back into his seat, looking at the prince skeptically. "All right, senpai. I trust you."

Bel sighed, and set his laptop aside to hug Fran tightly. "Fran, who am I looking at right now?"

"Me."

"Who am I holding right now?"

"Me."

"Who do I love most in the world?"

Fran smiled. "Me."

"That's right, and don't you forget it," Bel said proudly. Fran chuckled, and hugged the prince back.

"I won't. Not ever," he answered. "I love you, Bel-senpai."

"Love you too, Fran."

The illusionist rested his head on Bel's shoulder and closed his eyes. That was right. Bel belonged to him. Nobody else.

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><p>Meanwhile...<p>

"Voi, Lussuria!" Squalo called, "We've got that assignment tonight!"

"I know," the Sun guardian replied, setting the last plate on the table. "But weren't you going to do that thing?"

"What the hell, what thing- OHHH." The shark blushed. "Right. I... I almost forgot about that..."

"I'm encouraging you to do it," Lussuria remarked, folding his arms. "The best thing to do is tell him how you feel."

Squalo sadly shook his head. "It's a stupid idea, I doubt it'll work out right."

"Come now, Squ-chan. I'll help you get ready for it~," the gay man hummed. "I'll get you a good suit, and maybe do your hair up all professional..."

"If I agree to that, will you swear not to try and braid my hair ever again?" the Rain asked. A wide smile crossed the Sun Guardian's face, followed by vigorous nodding. "Fine. I'm putting my faith in you, Lussuria," Squalo said, placing a hand on the other's shoulder. The friendly gesture was immediately drawn back, however, because the redness of Luss's cheeks was simply too much for Squalo to handle.

"Morning, guys," Mammon greeted, walking in. "What's up with you, Squalo? I almost mistook you for a chick."

"It's an important day for him and boss," Lussuria tried to say innocently, "so I was going to help him get ready."

"Ah," Mammon said, "yeah, Squalo was going on about that anniversary."

"It's not a big deal," Squalo sighed, "and boss has probably forgotten, but..." The swordsman looked at the scar on his arm. "It was... an important day for me."

Flashback...

"Xanxus, back off!" Squalo shouted, "Leave that guy alone, we need him!"

"YOU back off!" Xanxus replied, turning against his classmate. "This guy is pissing me off!"

The small blonde cowered as the older man turned back towards him and aiming the pistol at him. "Really, Xanxus, this is serious! This little maniac here could really help us!"

"JUST SHUT UP ALREADY!" Xanxus roared, firing the pistol at Squalo. The swordsman hissed with pain, for he had not expected the move, and a firy bullet had struck his right arm.

"Gah, Xanxus...," he hissed. "Damn..."

Suddenly, the young, blood-covered prince dashed out in front of Xanxus, spreading his arms out. "Ushishi~! Wasn't I your target? Stop picking on the swordsgirl!"

Xanxus sighed, and placed his pistol back in his pocket. "All right. Belphegor, you're in. And as for you..." Bel stepped aside as Xanxus held out his hand to Squalo. "You need to get up so we can get your arm healed, trash."

"Xanxus..."

"The Varia need you," Xanxus said, looking away. "Hurry up and stand before I shoot you again."

Squalo smiled, and took Xanxus's hand, then allowed himself to be pulled back to his feet. It was the first time Xanxus had offered Squalo his hand, and it was also the start of Squalo's feelings for the other man.

And it was the first time that Squalo had ever thought...

_'You're the boss.'_

End Flashback.

Later...

"Just a little more, Squ-chan~," Lussuria hummed as the silver-haired man let a groan past his lips.

"Just tell me why I'm blindfolded!" he grunted, frowning.

"So as to not ruin the suprise~," the Sun sang happily. "But I will tell you, Squ-chan, I am a GENIUS at hair~!"

Squalo sighed, and winced as he felt his hair being yanked through a tight ponytail. "Are you done NOW?" he snarled.

"Almost."

The blindfold came off, and Squalo stared at the mirror in pleasant suprise. "Wow... Luss... this is..." He reached up and brushed his fingers through one of the bangs on the side of his face, shaking his head in amazement. Lussuria had tamed his hair into different sections, and pulled the most of it into a nice ponytail, while he let the rest of it hand on the side of his face. (A/N: Closest comparisons I can give you to this is TYL Mukuro minus the pineapple, or maybe Kanda Yuu from D. Gray man.)

"Nice, huh?" Lussuria said. "You're a beauty, Squ-chan!"

Squalo smiled and folded his arms. "Damn straight, I am," he said. "Thanks, Luss."

"Of course~," the Sun sang. "You know, I think this is good enough to say that I can let you out of tonight's mission."

"Oh, I couldn't," Squalo said.

"But you could, Squ-chan, I can take care of myself~."

"... Okay, fine," the swordsman replied, before sniffing the air. "If that's perfume, I'm going to-"

"It's not perfume," Lussuria snorted. "It's cologne, Squ-chan, big difference."

"... All right, whatever. I don't want boss to think I'm trying too hard," he sighed.

"No worries, Squ-chan, if anything, you SHOULD have him thinking that. Anything to make him come to his senses, ne?"

Squalo combed a hand through his hair, still impressed with it. "Yeah," he grunted, "anything for that."

Lussuria stepped aside as the Rain guaridan stood, and breathed, "You go get him back, Squ-chan."

"... Yeah, Luss."

And only a few hours later, Lussuria headed out.

-End Chapter

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><p>Wow, this seems long! Fun fact, almost every chapter in 'A Royal Meeting' was this long! Reason being, when I got my new netbook, I was still measuring my chapters with the scroll bar the same way, but the screen was a different size. And so, because of that, the chapters have been considerably shorter. (There WAS a lot more dialogue in 'A Royal Meeting,' though...)<p>

Challenge for the engaged reviewer: Make a prediction on how Squalo confronting Xanxus will go over. :)

Please review!


	8. Chapter 8: B26 Versus Lussuria

**A Royal End **

**Chapter Eight**

I took the three challenge entries and incorporated them into today's chapter!

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><p>Nighttime in the streets of Italy...<p>

"Now, Fran! ... And Mink!"

The two dashed out, Mink a white streak as he bolted towards their target. Fran closed his eyes for a moment as he ran, and his heart pleaded for him to stop as he heard the paniced, "Fran-chan?"

But he was more loyal to Bel than the Varia, and his demonic Hell ring claws slashed out as he tackled the Sun guardian and held him down. "Mink," he hissed.

"Grraur..."

The sleek weapon lashed its tail over Lussuria's stomach, and the Sun guardian gave a squeal of pain, looking away from the illusionist. "Fran-chan... please... don't do this... not tonight... not now...!"

"I'm sorry," Fran apologized. "I really am. Mink, that'll do." Bel recalled the box weapon, and Fran looked into Lussuria's eyes, barely outlined beneath his dark sunglasses. "I'm sorry," he repeated, standing up. "But this is going to go on until you hate us."

"And... I'm sorry too, Fran," Lussuria rasped. Fran didn't understand until a heavy fist smashed into the side of his head, flooring him immediately. Fran grunted with pain, coughing blood, and he yelped as another punch landed right in his stomach. He trembled, paralyzed, as Lussuria scrambled to his feet, only to have a knife pushed inside his chest to the hilt.

"You dare to hurt Fran?" Bel snarled, stabbing the Sun guardian several more times. Lussuria backed into a wall, a hand over his mouth as Bel continued to attack him, before reaching out weakly, and placing his hand on the prince's head.

"I'm sorry, Bel-chan," he whispered, "I'm sorry, Fran-chan. I'm sorry..." The hand was drawn back, clenched, and thrown back and into Bel's chest, winding him as well as pushing him to the ground. Lussuria shook his head in disappointment, panting, and said, "I never wanted to hurt either of you... Bel-chan, give me the knife with the note... I'll take care of it."

The Sun guardian leaned down beside Bel, his hand extended, but a glint of blood-red mischief, and Lussuria had the downside again. Bel's never-lose policy had allowed him a burst of adrenaline, and he wildly shoved knife after knife into the Sun, until finally pushing the long knife completely through the other's hand. Lussuria closed his eyes, trying to take the pain without tearshed, and placed his uninjured hand on Bel's shoulder, before moving it to hit him in the stomach; for he hoped to initiate as good a paralysis as he'd done to Fran so that he could head home already.

Bel doubled over, grinning, and said, "The prince will consider this his win."

"It always has been, Bel-chan," the other said in a gentle voice, before standing, and walking away, leaving the multitude of knives in his stomach. As a Sun guardian, he figured, he'd be capable of healing on his own.

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><p>Meanwhile...<p>

KNOCK KNOCK.

"Who the hell is bothering me now?"

"It's me. Strategy Captain Superbia."

Although Xanxus was perplexed by the formality, he was fast to give the typical response. "Shark trash, I don't want to hear it. Why aren't you on your misson?"

"Can I come in, please?"

'Please,' the boss mentally repeated, 'he sounds like he's about to tell me he's pregnant or something.' The mere thought made Xanxus shudder. "Yeah, whatever, you can come in."

Squalo opened the door slowly, and Xanxus closed his eyes before he could see the other. Somehow, he knew that Squalo wanted to be seen, and that meant that he required some teasing to be put in place. But what Squalo said next suprised Xanxus anyway. "Look at me." It was a short, simple command. An order. From Squalo. The boss looked up, and stared, dazed, as Squalo came closer, took the seat on the opposite side of his desk, and kicked his feet up onto it, lying a banquet of roses on the desk as he did so. (A/N: banquet idea from peppermint twertle's challenge entry.)

"How do I look?" the shark asked, running a hand through his long hair and eyeing Xanxus like he would his dinner. The boss snorted.

"Like trash," he replied curtly. Squalo then nodded, actually, nodded, and rested his arms on the desk, leaning in.

"I want to talk to you."

"If it's about the goddamned prince-and-frog trash, then-"

"No. No, I mean, about us," the Rain guardian said.

"What's that freaking smell on you?" Xanxus asked. Squalo reached forward, and boldly cupped his boss's face in his hands.

"Try to focus on me," he whispered. The shark's expression slowly reddened as he found the words, and he said, "Boss, when you said that we're breaking up, I was heartbroken." Xanxus continued to watch as Squalo closed his eyes, and sighed. "I spent the nights in restlessness, tossing and turning in my sleep, always waking up on the wrong side of the bed, because I had dreamt about you. The irreplaceable you."

"Shark trash, y-"

"And then, I found out that you were kicking out Bel and Fran, and I realized that you never loved me the way I loved you."

"You're freaking-"

"Today's important to me, Xanxus. Seventeen years ago today, Belphegor joined the Varia. And on that day, you shot me in the arm, then offered to pull me back up off the ground. Your compassion then, is gone today."

Xanxus continued to stare in suprise, jostled, for Squalo looked like he would start crying at any moment. (A/N: Teary-eyed Squalo idea from fayeredgrave's challenge entry.)

"You've changed," Squalo whispered, "and it hurts me to see that. But boss, today... I want to redeem my feelings for you. I want you to show me that you CAN love me like I need you to, boss."

The shark leaned in, and met Xanxus's lips cautiously, trying to sooth the older man with a slow, tender kiss. For a long while, the moment dragged on, and Squalo moved his tongue over the dry mouth, trying to encourage Xanxus into the love. But then...

BANG.

Squalo backed off as the abused ceiling gave a groan, and looked into the boss's eyes. They were fierce, and mean.

The true eyes of a heartless boss of the Mafia.

"Get. Out."

Squalo stood upright. "I'm sorry to have intruded."

The Rain guardian closed the door behind him, and reached a hand up to hold his aching forehead. "Ugh," he grunted, "all that wasted effort."

"Squ-chan!" came a weak shout from another room. Suprised by the desperation in the voice, Squalo ran, and soon came out upon the living room to see Lussuria, leaning against the doorframe as he pulled a knife from his stomach. "Ah-," he gasped in pain. He finally managed to get the weapon out of him, and looked up at Squalo. "Note...," he breathed, "from Bel and Fran...chan..."

"Luss," Squalo whispered, running up to the other man. He took the knife, and untied the note, then read aloud, "Naturally, we've taken out Luss, too, with injuries that Fran made sure can't be healed easily with Sun flames..."

"Ah... whatever they did for that, it worked," Lussuria laughed dryly.

"and we'll strike again soon. Just wait for us," Squalo concluded. "Man, I'm sorry, I should've gone with you." Lussuria shook his head.

"Oh, no, Squ-chan, it's quite all right. How did things go with boss?" Squalo hung his head, and Lussuria reached out, then petted the other's head soothingly. "Oh, Squ-chan... it must really hurt."

"Yeah," the swordsman agreed. "A lot."

Squalo looked up, and stared at Lussuria long and hard, before coming forward and, just as an experiment, kissed the older man. Lussuria gave a quiet intake of breath at the gesture, but allowed it for a while, before gently pushing Squalo back. "No, Squ-chan, that's not the answer... I'm sorry to say that I'm not good enough for you." (A/N: This part's idea was inspired by MeekyMangaMonster's challenge entry.)

"Then who is?"

"You know who," the Sun hushed. "Now go get some rest... oh, help me to the infirmary first, please..."

Squalo sighed.

Maybe his love life was just going to be a permanent wreck.

-End Chapter

* * *

><p>Heehee! So three engaged reviewers kinda helped me write this chappy! I do hope you like that.<p>

And now for the next challenge: Give a thoughtful guess as to how this last battle will influence the next one. Hehe...

Please keep reviewing!


	9. Chapter 9: Advertising to the King

**A Royal End **

**Chapter Nine**

* * *

><p>"Ahh, man, I told you he was a musclehead," Fran sighed, rubbing his stomach sorely. "I'll bet my large intestine's bruised."<p>

"Come on, Fran, it wasn't that bad... really...," Bel sighed, setting a glass of water on the nightstand. "I'm just glad that we made through it. He definitely didn't hold back on you... I'm suprised."

"He was sorry about it, though," Fran murmured, "he kept apologizing... so I don't think he really wanted to do it."

"Fran," Bel said, placing a wet towel on the younger man's forehead, "don't pity him. Don't feel sorry for what took place tonight. Right now, we have no one, no one, but each other, okay?"

"... Mm hm."

"It's just you and me," Bel whispered, leaning on the bed. "And nobody else, Fran. Not Lussuria, not Mammon, not even Squalo. Okay?"

"... Yes, Bel-senpai," Fran sighed, reaching forward and entangling his fingers in the blonde mess of hair. "I just... don't know..."

"Rest tonight," Bel hushed, "I need to go out somewhere... I'll be back around midnight to check in on you."

"Sure," Fran said, closing his eyes. "Whatever." Bel grinned and gave his lover a quick peck on the cheek, before standing upright and walking out of the room. "Senpai...," Fran breathed, curling into a ball, "if only you knew that I can't sleep without you."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile...<p>

"Squ-chan, really, I'm fine, you should go ahead and get some rest."

"I couldn't possibly. Besides, you're always hanging around me like a freakin' mother hen when I want to be left alone, so I suppose I'm getting payback here."

Lussuria sighed and looked at his hand. "This is the one that really gets me...," he sighed, "I can't even hit a practice dummy with this now."

"I'm sure it'll heal up," Squalo said, looking at the wound. "They probably just did something to slow down the healing process."

"Like what?" Lussuria asked, "They don't have Rain flames!"

"Yeah, but even these days, some people use poison," Squalo muttered, reaching a hand out and placing the back of it on the older man's forehead. "You lost a hell lot of blood out there. I commend you on maintaining conciousness."

"But of course," Lussuria said, "I wanted to get out of there without hurting Bel and Fran-chan too much."

"And they call me soft," Squalo chuckled, resting his forehead on the other's shoulder. Lussuria sighed, and reached his good arm around the shark, holding him in it.

"Let it out, Squ-chan. I know that boss hurt you. Don't think that a Varia can't cry, Squ-chan, because I'm here, and I'm telling you that it's all right," Lussuria soothed, gently rubbing the Rain guardian's back. Squalo gave a weak nod, trembled, and closed his eyes.

"Thanks," he whispered.

"Anytime, Squ-chan," Lussuria returned.

* * *

><p>Later...<p>

"The cafe? You mean the one down the street?" Bel asked.

"Yes. There's a good number of people there who are living out of hotel rooms, so they're all pretty likely to buy."

Bel grinned. 'Ain't that the truth!'

"All right. I'll head out, then."

"Good luck, Bel-san!" Leopold called as he left.

Bel walked through the streets, passing by the night club where he'd recently murdered as he made way down to the cafe. Finally, he made it, and he walked in. "Pardon me, but do any fine ladies want to buy a river villa out in the forest? The view is absolutely DIVINE!" he announced, holding out a flyer. Immediately, someone snatched the paper out of his grip, and started reading aloud.

"Our villas aren't like the cheap wood-plank built, run-down places you usually see out in the forest, we sell only the top quality, luxury villas! Call 555-6918 for a spectacular view! Many villas are only... wha- FREAKING FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND EUROS?"

Many in the cafe laughed quietly as Rasiel threw a fit over the price. "Bel, do you expect me, a poorly-paid waiter, to have enough money for a freaking luxury villa? I suppose it's nothing to you, being a filthy rich MAFIA guy!"

"Actually, idiot brother, Fran and I were expelled from the Varia little more than a week ago. I'm advertising to work off the payment for the villa, myself."

Rasiel stood still for a moment, then pushed the flyer back into his brother's arm, and turned around, clearly in the mood to pout or something stupid like that. "Well, while your here, have something to drink, dammit."

"Pass," Bel said, walking around his brother to instead talk to the ladies. Rasiel made a sort of hissing noise as Bel approached the collection of waiters and waitresses by the kitchen, and headed over immediately.

"Hey! Before you go flirting it up with everyone- *noticeable glance at a young waiter*- sit the hell down and get a freaking drink!"

"Yeesh, when did you grow the foul mouth?" Bel asked as his brother took a firm hold on his arm. "I mean, really."

Rasiel sat Bel down at a table, and went to get something for him. To keep Bel in place, however, he knew he had to be tactful, and he came back with a strawberry malt. "Here. It's on me," he offered. Bel grinned, and took it.

"All right, I can stay for a little bit."

The other prince sighed, and took the seat on the opposite side of Bel. "So...," he began. "How've you been?"

"Shishishi~, Froggy and I are gonna be back in the Varia before you know it, Jill."

Rasiel raised a brow. "How so?"

"We have this brilliant plan, you see," Bel said, before starting to go into detail about how they were going to beat up each of the Varia, and describing the battles they'd gone through already, his brother paying close attention throughout the speech until the end. "So... it's hard, but I know we can do it."

"Amazing...," Rasiel whispered.

"Hm?"

"You two... trust each other so much," Rasiel said, before leaning over and taking his brother's hand. "If I can ever do anything to help, Bel, I promise..."

Bel recoiled his hand, and said, "No. No, we're good, thanks."

Rasiel sighed, and looked out the window. "I... just need something to break this unending cycle." The younger prince watched as his brother closed his eyes and sighed dramatically, his painted nails drumming the desk. "Life... is so dull," he breathed. Bel continued to observe for a while longer, before finally giving in.

"If I have a task for you, I'll let you know. Okay? So stop acting like... what's the word... hm... like A-SPARE-IGUS."  
>"What the-"<p>

"Anyway, I need to keep advertising and stuff, so ignore the pun," Bel said. Rasiel grinned.

"You got to get back to being a SELL-ery?" he asked.

"Bro, leave the food puns to the king," Bel said, before turning to the few customers in the restaurant. "River villas for sale!"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet...<p>

"Kyouya, good news!" Mukuro announced. Hibari glanced up from his game of solitaire.

"Hn?"

"I just got this wonderful feeling that someone made a food prank and I wasn't involved!" the illusionist cheered.

"You're so weird," the former prefect sighed, lying down an ace in the corner. "Makes me wonder what I see in you sometimes."

Offended, Mukuro walked over to his lover, and crouched down beside him, then quickly completed the game of solitaire before Hibari had a chance to protest. He then turned to the other, and breathed, "Need I remind you?"

"... I'm good. It's too early for reminding, I'ma go train or something... beat someone up..."

Mukuro watched as the other lumbered away, then smiled to himself. "Kyouya, you are a darling," he sighed.

-End Chapter

* * *

><p>Lol at myself, randomly ending on an 1869 note, speaking of, who noticed the phone number! Yeah! Woo!<p>

XD I'm silly.

Challenge for the engaged reviewer: Compare and contrast a character in this fic to one in any shounen-ai anime. Idk why, I couldn't think of anything else. XP, if you haven't watched any shounen-ai animes, though, feel free to make any other references~

Please review~!


	10. Chapter 10: B26 Versus Mammon

**A Royal End **

**Chapter Ten**

* * *

><p>Bel walked back into the room, and blinked when he saw Fran, curled up in front of the door. "Eh... Fran?"<p>

"Nine hours," Fran whispered.

"Hm?"

"I waited nine hours for you to come back."

The voice was weak, and sad, wrenching the prince's heart with its pitiful sound. "Fran... I'm sorry, I was tired after I finished up with that errand, and I..."

"There's no excuse," Fran rasped, before looking up at the prince with tear-filled eyes. "I'm more deeply rooted in this relationship than you are, apparently."

"I'm sorry," Bel apologized in a quiet voice.

"... Senpai...," Fran whispered, "please... I don't know what you do out there, and I won't ask. But we HAVE to do something. Tonight."

Bel grinned. "How about we fight?" Fran pouted, and the prince grinned, before pulling his kouhai up and embracing him. "C'mon, Froggy, afterwords, I'll take you out for ice-" Fran cut the prince off with a kiss, pleasantly suprising the prince for a solid eight or so seconds before he backed off. "-cream," Bel completed, before grinning. "Unless Froggy wants his dessert early," he hinted. The illusionist snorted, and pushed Bel back.

"If that's all I can do for you, you should spend tonight out again," he muttered. Offended, Bel chased after his lover.

"Come on, Fran, I didn't mean to give off that impression- we can go out to dance or something, too!"

"No, I'm fine," Fran mumbled, smashing his face into a pillow. "Stupid perverted prince turned me off."

"Fran...," Bel sighed, sitting down on the bed beside Fran and rubbing his back. "Come on... I love you, Fran..."

"Prove it," Fran said, glaring . "I want you to take the lead role in defeating Mammon tonight."

Bel closed his eyes, and nuzzled into Fran's neck. "I will," he said, "I will. I'll prove my love to you, Fran... I promise."

Fran's gaze softened, and he, too, closed his eyes. "I'll back you up," he sighed.

* * *

><p>Noon...<p>

Bel looked at the Arcobaleno heading towards an enemy base, then glanced at Fran. "Tell me when," he said.  
>"... Go, my prince," Fran said.<p>

The prince ran out and threw a few knives, attracting the Arcobaleno's attention. Mammon's indigo eyes opened wide under his hood as he gasped, "Bel?" Bel didn't dare to look at the illusionist, knowing it would bring too much heartache. He just slashed wildly, even though he was holding back a little. He and Mammon had been close friends for so long... and now...

Bel pushed the thought away, and made another move, but Mammon leapt up, then used Phantasma, his yellow viper, to levitate. "Bel, you're messing around with the wrong man!" he cried, indigo tentacles emerging from beneath his cloak. Bel shielded himself as one lashed at him, then quickly got out a specially developed knife from Fran and threw it. The partly-illusionary knife circled around Mammon, tying him with thin wires as it flew. The Arcobaleno made a startled choke of a noise as the thin weapon cut through him, and the prince looked away, then forced himself back on his target.

Then all of a sudden, the Arcobaleno vanished, leaving a trash can in his wake. Realizing it was an illusion, the prince turned, but it was too late. A scarf of thick tentacles knocked him back, and he grunted with pain, hissing as he felt a particularly sharp hurt in his knife-throwing wrist. The prince closed his eyes, finding himself powerless to move. "Fran... help...," he whimpered as the tentacles tightened around his arms.

"Bel... you've made such a mistake..."

"No, he hasn't. You have," spoke a deep, and suprisingly quite seductive-sounding voice. A long black tail wrapped around the illusionist's body, and constricted him, and clawed hands grabbed the tentacles before they could create further damage. "The knife, Bel."

The prince took his uninjured hand, and shoved it into Mammon's hat. Fran, still keeping the Arcobaleno hostage, pierced his spaded tail into Mammon's shoulder, causing him to cry out in pain. The small body trembled, and Fran released him, then went to assist Bel. "You all right, senpai?" he asked softly.

"Fine," Bel lied. "But if Froggy intends to carry the prince home..."

Fran almost pulled off a smirk, mirroring the Fran that Bel had met from the future, and the prince blushed as he was picked up into the illusionist's arms. "All right, senpai, if you insist."

"Fran...," Bel breathed, before deciding to accept the role for the moment and wrapping his arms around the younger man's neck. "Take me home, my prince," he teased. The prince grinned, feeling the illusions that helped Fran support him, and the other answered his remark with a wink.

"I think you've done enough proving for one day, senpai," he murmured, blushing lightly. "Thank you."

"Shishishi~, adorable kouhai," Bel whispered. "Keep the teasing to a minumum. We can go out to dinner or something."

"Nah, I think we'll just head riiight home."

Bel's face flushed red.

He could take a hint.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile...<p>

"Ugh... those two...," Mammon groaned, pulling himself along over the ground. "I can't believe myself for thinking Bel was on his own... of course, Fran didn't care about me, saving his life. My shoulder..."

The distance back to the headquarters was long, and Mammon had weakly managed to teleport there, but he was still a few yards shy of the door. "Luss... Squalo... someone...," he called, extending a tentacle and drumming it on the door. When there was no answer, the Arcobaleno whimpered and opened the door himself.

Walking inside, he received no greeting, but his arrival was soon acknowledged. Squalo, expecting him to get attacked, ran to the door when he heard sound, and immediately took the knife, uncaring of Mammon's condition. Unfolding the note, his sharp, gray eyes narrowed in suspiscion. "'Mammon has fallen, but our strength only rises. Prince and frog are growing every minute. You can guess our next target, but we'll tell you early... It's you, Superbia Squalo. You're next. Don't bother to go easy on us. Signed... Belphegor and Fran...'" The shark hung his head, not wanting to fight the two who had supported and helped him in so many situations.

Fran had stood by him during their stay at the main headquarters, amusing him as they cooked side-by-side, and both Bel and Fran had given him suggestions when he was worried about something involving Xanxus. Fran had been infinitely kind to him, if a little bratty, and his slight flirting every so often was something that Squalo could look forward to when Xanxus was ignoring him. And speaking of the boss, when Bel's idiot brother screwed everything up, Squalo was able to find comfort as he watched them from his spiritual form, assuring each other it would be okay as if they were speaking to the shark. And later... when Xanxus had been spiritually killed, Fran's master had been the one to rescue him.

Besides, as far as this entire love vs. strength business was concerned, he was on their side to begin with. He had fully accepted his feelings for Xanxus as love- no less, and he wanted Bel and Fran to win this battle and get their place in the Varia back.

"Shark trash," spoke the gruff voice that Squalo knew so well.

"Yeah, boss?" he answered, turning to the boss.

"You aren't going on any missions whatsoever for the next year and the year after until those idiots die. I don't want every Varia being weak in one moment."

"Yes boss," Squalo replied, a lump forming in his throat.

"Furthermore, I will personally seek out said brats and murder them next week," Xanxus added, nodding at his own suggestion.

"No, don't!" the Rain guardian said immediately, walking up to the older man. "Why can't we let them back? Haven't they proven themselves worth-"

Squalo was cut off as cold lips sealed his own, and he stood their, stunned, until Xanxus backed off. "If you're still thinking you feel something 'loving' for me, then you may as well join them."

"Maybe I will!" Squalo shouted, blushing lightly. "Maybe that's the best choice!"

Then, a pair of handcuffs locked around the shark's wrists. "That's what I WOULD say," Xanxus said, "if I didn't need you right now."

Squalo was fully aware that Xanxus wanted him for power, not as a lover. And so, when he looked down, he whispered, "I hope they clobber you, Xanxus."

Xanxus frowned, then started to drag Squalo away, leaving Mammon alone and injured.

He was officially pissed off.

**-End Chapter**

* * *

><p>Ooh, I wrote this battle a tad early!<p>

Whateva. Merry Christmas, my lovely readers, and I hope that I will be blessed with your reviews...


	11. Chapter 11: A Feminine Moment

**A Royal End**

** Chapter Eleven**

* * *

><p>Morning...<p>

"Stupid senpai should've told me earlier," Fran muttered as he held the prince's wrist. "Damn it, senpai, it's broken."

"Eh?" Bel gasped, staring at the wound. "B-but I never..."

"You never what, senpai? Never suffered a broken bone?" Fran snorted. "Better let me lead the fight with Squalo. I'll use my illusions to heal you, but naturally, it's gonna be sore for a while. You can't stab in this state, senpai, it's better not to overwork it. 'Kay?"

"Is Froggy gonna use this to overpower the prince?" Bel asked, pouting. "At nighttime, I mean?"

"Nah, I'm good," Fran replied, "I'm not gonna stoop that low. But I WILL use it to drag you out to dinner every now and then."

Bel smiled with relief, and hugged Fran. "Love you, Froggy..."

"Yeah you do," Fran laughed. "Hey, do you want me to handle that thing tonight? I wouldn't mind taking your place in whatever you're doing during the night."

Bel weighed the possibilities of Fran discovering his position, then thought of Leopold. That man most certainly knew that Bel wanted it to be a suprise, so he was likely not to tell. "All right, Froggy, I'll tell you this. I'm working at a place to earn more money by advertising for them, so don't know what he would have you do, unless he thinks you're gonna be a good advertiser-"

"I can flaunt papers, senpai, that I can do," Fran snickered. "Where is this 'place'?"

"Oh, uhh..."

Bel gave Fran the directions, but sooner or later, they had abandoned the discussion for more... intimate contact.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile...<p>

"How'd the night go?" Xanxus asked, sitting on the edge of the bed with a plate in his hands.

"You're insane," Squalo protested, pulling his sword arm against its cuffs. "My wrist hurts like hell, and I feel like a freaking dog."

"Calm down, shark trash, I brought you breakfast," the boss answered with a smirk, placing the plate on his former lover's lap. Squalo frowned, and picked up a fork, too frustrated to say anything more. "Just so you know," Xanxus began again, "I made it for you."

"Careful boss. Wouldn't want to weaken yourself," Squalo snickered, even though he couldn't prevent the blush on his face. He took a bite of the ham, and glanced back. "Fran does it much better."

"Does he," Xanxus mused, "well, he's not going to be in this world much longer, so I don't mind."

"What's gotten into you?" Squalo asked, arching a brow. "You're creeping me out, boss."

"I'm overly stressed, I suppose," Xanxus answered. "I have three members of the Varia in the infirmary, and I've got you chained up to keep you from ditching the Varia... I could use a little relief."

Squalo snorted and finished his meager meal, before setting it on the nightstand. He closed his eyes. "Okay, boss," he whispered.

* * *

><p>Later, in B26's hotel room...<p>

"My boyfriend is going to be substituting for me today, I broke my wrist," Bel said.

("Ah. I presume we aren't to say anything about the purchase?")

"Exactly. I have him thinking that this is no more than a night job, so just make it seem that way. He'll be there any moment now. Teal-blue hair and eyes, you can't miss him."

("Yes sir. Thank you for letting me know.")

"Yeah."

The prince hung up, and leaned back in bed. "Man... I'm bored."

* * *

><p>Fran walked into the building, and looked around, before calling out, "Eh, mister Leopold? Bel's got a broken wrist, so I'm substituting for him..."<p>

"Ah, yes, what's your name?" Leopold questioned, running over. After taking a moment to think about just how average this man looked, Fran told him his name. "Fran, all right. Hm... you're quite... feminine..."

And a while later, Fran headed out, telling himself that everything was going to be all right. His new 'uniform', however, had him wondering. The young man had been given a long, sexy-woman's dress, and he wasn't happy about it. He was sure that all of this was over, but apparently not. As he made his way to the designated bar where he was going to be advertising the real estate whatever that Leopold wanted him to promote, he wondered if Belphegor did the same thing when he got there. After a moment of wondering, the illusionist grinned. The idea of his senpai in a dress was one he could live with.

* * *

><p>The next day... (sorry.)<p>

"Senpai! I'm home!" Fran announced, walking in to the room. Bel's jaw dropped when he saw his kouhai, wearing a dress.

"Froggy?" he said, finding his voice.

"Mm hm?"

"What are you wearing?" the prince asked, trying to keep his eyes up so as not to offend the other.

"A dress," Fran said flatly. "Leopold said I could keep it. To impress you. Anyway, help me get it off so I can get back in my totally manly t-shirt, would you?"

"Yeah," Bel agreed. "How does this work?"

"Zipper in the back, I think," Fran replied. "And don't worry, a chick helped me get this on."

"Okay, whatever," Bel replied. "Are you okay, did anyone...?"

"Yeah, but no worries," Fran answered. "The second I caught anyone glancing at me, I would do an illusion of a Levi mustache on my face so that they'd stop." The illusionist allowed himself a small smile at the memory, causing his lover to groan.

"Oh, Froggy, there's no need to defile your beautiful face for those idiots, you really should've just killed them. I would've," Bel sighed. "Seriously, there was this woman out there while I was working, and she got all hot with the prince, so I killed her."

"Hey, why didn't I hear about this?" Fran asked, glaring over his shoulder as Bel fumbled with the zipper on the dress.

"Prince was ashamed of himself," Bel replied shortly, before embracing his kouhai. "Forgive the prince?"

"All right, fine, but don't let it happen again. Kill her BEFORE she gets 'hot with the prince.'"

"Hey, nothing happened," Bel argued. "Well, nothing that meant anything. Nothing involving me taking off my-"

"I get the point, senpai," Fran cut in.

"-tiara." The illusionist paused for a moment, then started laughing hysterically as he got himself dressed again. "What?" Bel asked, sitting down on the bed again.

"You called your crown a 'tiara' for the first time, senpai," Fran said, "and that really made my day."

Bel blushed, and folded his arms, looking away. "I wuz jus' tellin' the truth," he mumbled.

"Oh, senpai," Fran laughed, hugging the prince. "Sometimes, you're truly adorable."

"Eh-... thanks...," Bel said, hugging back hesitantly. "Don't use that to your advantage."

"Heh. I told you, senpai. I wouldn't stoop that low."

**-End Chapter**

* * *

><p>Okay, this feels to me like a filler. : Sorry peoples!

Keep reviewin' and I'll update something more plotful!


	12. Chapter 12: Tricked

**A Royal End **

**Chapter Twelve**

* * *

><p>A week later...<p>

"Fran... taking me out like this... I really appreciate it," Bel hummed, rubbing his hand. "I think my wrist is almost completely healed up, too."

"We're not taking any chances," Fran said as he tried to flag down a waiter. "But it's good that you feel that way."

"Sorry about the wait, what can I get you?" the waiter asked, walking over.

"We'll both have water to drink, and I'll have-"

"Ahem! Spaghetti will do for the both of us," Bel said, reaching to touch Fran's hand. Fran paused, then smiled at his senpai.

"Yeah, that's good."

CLICK.

"Farewell, damn scum."

Fran and Bel glanced up just to see the scars that extended over their supposed waiter's face, and realized in shock that before them was Xanxus, pistols at the ready to blow some brains out. And then...

"STOP, DAMN IT!"

Squalo locked his arms around the boss's and held on tight. "Boss, you don't need to do this! Come on!"

"Yeah, don't freaking kill anyone when I'm around!" shouted someone else.

Bel glanced to see his brother, but just as he said, "Jill?", a loud BANG resonated throughout the restaurant. Fran had pulled out a gun, and shot his prince with speed unmatchable. Both stunned and officially unconcious, the prince fell back in his chair, and hit the ground.

"Happy, boss? Are we still total softies?" the illusionist said as blood poured out of his lover's head. "If he's dead, then I can come back, right?"

The three stared for a moment, and Fran saw for a moment that Squalo looked like he would really cry from the shock, while Xanxus paused, then smiled, eerily. "I could use someone who defeated half of the Varia."

"Forget it," Fran hissed, standing. "Rasiel, dispose of Bel's body. I'll be at the hotel."

Rasiel watched as the young man left, walking right past the prince's motionless body without a second glance. He was completely mortified to witness what he had, and the look in Fran's eyes was truly that of a murderer. The older prince looked down at his still brother, and knelt down beside him, before placing a hand on his brother's chest. Trembling as he saw the blood, Rasiel wondered if there was something... out about this. But then, he brushed his hand over the bangs and saw the wide open, forever-stunned blood-red eyes, and knew that it was over. Belphegor was dead.

Squalo knelt down beside the body as well, and shook his head in disbelief. "What the hell?" he rasped, looking up and meeting Rasiel's eyes. "Why did he..." The other prince hung his head, and Squalo reached up to touch his forehead. "But that doesn't make any sense...!"

"Come on, shark trash," said Xanxus, "he's gone. Let the other prince trash take care of it."

The Rain guardian trembled, and touched his hand to his forehead, still denying the fact that Belphegor was gone. "I... I can't..."

Xanxus dragged the swordsman to his feet, and began to pull him away. "Come ON."

As a few tears brimmed in his eyes, Squalo leaned against his love.

Rasiel remained there, with his hand against the prince's forehead, before he leaned over, and placed his head on his chest. He closed his eyes, before they opened wide when he heard something faint. He blushed.

A heartbeat.

Then, as if to prove it wasn't a fluke, there came another. Rasiel looked up, and saw that the unfocused, bulging eyes were now looking at him. "They gone?" breathed the faint voice. Rasiel looked away, then wiped at his eyes.

"You're alive...," he whispered. Bel grinned.

"Take me to my hotel room, would ya?"

Rasiel nodded, then rested his head on his brother's chest once more. "Damn it, Bel, I thought... I thought you were dead."

"Shh. You need to pretend I still am... this is more important than you could imagine," sighed the younger prince.

"Bel... I'll miss you," Rasiel rasped, before hoisting the other up into his arms, his practice from carrying heavy plates making it easier. "Boss!" he called, "I've... got to go!"

"Y-yeah, okay," replied the older prince's boss from somewhere in the cafe.

* * *

><p>Later...<p>

"I want to have a little talk before we go in," Bel said to his brother.

"Eh... okay."

* * *

><p>"Senpai's sure taking a while," Fran mused, "I'll just go to sleep..."<p>

The young man began to doze, unaware of the two who slipped into the room soon after.

* * *

><p>Morning...<p>

"Nn... senpai...," breathed the illusionist, reaching over and hugging the body before him. "I love you... sorry about yesterday and stuff, and..." Fran cut himself off when he felt a body of equal size brush up behind him. "Senpai?" he questioned, looking up.

"Shesheshe! Hello, adorable Fran."

"Wah!" Fran yelped, backing up. "The hell is fake-prince-the-second born of hairy sasquatches doing here?"

"Fran! Those 'hairy sasquatches' were my parents, too!"

"Senpai!" Fran said, rolling over and hugging the other prince. "Yes, that's MUCH better."

"Jill's gonna help us," Bel whispered. "We talked last night, and I decided that we're going to need his help for Squalo. Since boss and Squalo think I'm dead... Squalo's gonna be sent back out, and his feelings are probably spiking his strength. I thought it would be good to have a little backup."

Fran glanced back at the older prince. "Well, okay. By the way, Rasiel, you're a good kisser. Never got a chance to tell you that."

"Shesheshe. Call me Jill, Fran."

"Nah."

Bel laughed and brought his kouhai back into his arms, and touched his cheek against Fran's. "Sorry if we suprised you, Froggy. I didn't want to have my brother on the ground, you know."

"It's cool, senpai. I don't mind waking up next to two princes every morning. As long as fake-prince the second brushes his teeth."

Rasiel laughed, and reached over, wrapping his arms around not just Fran, but both of them. "Thanks, you two," he murmured. "Thanks for giving me something more than being a waiter. You made me a brother... and a friend... thank you."

"Oh, butt out, Jill," said Belphegor, pushing his brother back and grinning widely. "Don't make me take things back."

Rasiel smiled and said, "Bel, Fran, consider me your soldier. I'll be beside you through this battle, and I'll do whatever I can to help."

Bel and Fran grinned at each other, and said in sync,

"Thanks, man."

**-End Chapter**

* * *

><p>Hehehe. Did I scare you there for a moment? I think I'll leave it here for the night.<p>

PLEASE REVIEW!


	13. Chapter 13: Plans for Tomorrow

**A Royal End **

**Chapter Thirteen**

* * *

><p>"Okay, Xanxus got completely duped, Froggy. Squalo's going on a mission tomorrow night."<p>

"Got it," Fran replied, leaning against the prince nearest to him- Rasiel. He then scrunched up his face. "Did you brush your teeth as I requested?"

"Usheshe. I'll do it later, go bug Bel, he'll get jealous," Rasiel said as he nudged the illusionist to indicate that he didn't need any comfort.

Fran snorted and backed off, before slumping himself against Belphegor. "Senpaai, I'm not getting any attention from you or your brother, and I'm getting ticked off."

Bel shooed him away. "Go play with Jill or something... I'm busy hacking the Varia system." Offended, Fran hopped off the bed and went over to the small kitchen they had been given.

"See if they say that when I make MYSELF lunch...," he muttered.

"Jill, look at this," Bel said, gesturing his brother over. The older prince moved up next to the other, and looked at the screen. He bit his lip as he waited for Bel to explain the map. "Okay, Fran and I already have a way of teamwork; what I need you to do is immobilize him, or weaken him in any way."

"I could use Pipistrello Tempesta-"

"No, no, we can't kill him," Bel said, looking at the other with sincere, blood-red eyes. "We need to be careful. Especially cause Fran's always had a thing for Squalo."

"I heard that!" Fran announced.

"Okay, I get what your saying," Rasiel answered. "Uhh... then... Squalo's the dude with the sword on his hand, right?"

"Yeah," Bel said. "If you can get the sword and or his hand detatched, that would practically make him a cat with no claws."

"Looks like I've got a goal," the older prince said, grinning again. "This'll be easy."

Bel patted the other's shoulder, and stood up. "Fran! You makin' lunch?"

"Yeah. For myself," Fran snickered, coming back to the bed with a single plate of food.

"N'aw, Froggy," Bel whined. "Come on..."

"No worries, Bel, I'll make something," Rasiel said. "Did little Fran forget I work in a cafe? Usheshe~."

Fran scowled, sad to have missed out on the attention he was planning to recieve, but was soon rewarded for his efforts with a kiss from Bel. "Nice try, Froggy," the prince said softly, "but you know, I love you anyway."

"Thanks, senpai," Fran murmured, before he took the prince into his arms. "Hehe... that was hardly anything, c'mon, longer kiss than that."

"Shishishi, typical Fran," Bel laughed. As they went into a more passionate kiss, Rasiel grinned, and looked away. He knew better than to disturb something like that.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, at Varia Hq...<p>

"But, Squ-chan, are you sure that Fran would actually do something like that? He IS an illusionist," Lussuria told the swordsman in a quiet voice.

"Luss has a point," Mammon called from across the room. "I'll bet they set you up."

"Yeah, yeah, you're right," Squalo answered, hanging his head. "But you know... I don't think I'd mind if I had my ass handed to me like the rest of you. Especially by them."

"Oh, Squ-chan," Lussuria gushed, "If I could reach out and hug you right now, I would."

"No matter, Luss," Squalo chuckled, before leaning over the Sun guardian and hugging him. "You know, I'll take any comfort I can get..."

"Squ-chan," the Sun sighed, reaching up his good hand to pat the swordsman on the head. "Come now, don't want boss seeing you like this."

Squalo nodded, and backed off, before taking his former position in a chair. "Ugh... it's just so frustrating that I have to turn to you guys- no offense, but it used to be that if I had a problem, I could go and rant about it to boss, and you know what he'd do about it?"

"What would he do?" both Lussuria and Mammon asked.

"He'd say, 'come here, shark trash,' and then he'd freaking comfort me," Squalo muttered. "But all that's changed now, hasn't it?"

"Squ-chan..."

"Squalo," said a gruff voice from the doorway. "Get over here. Mission tomorrow."

"Right. Later, guys," Squalo said, standing and walking over to Xanxus.

"See ya, Squalo."

"Bye, Squ-chan."

Squalo headed out with Xanxus, quietly asking where this mission would be taking place. "You head out at nine tomorrow night, and you're going out to finish what Mammon failed at. You know where that base is, right?"

"Yes."

"If Fran interrupts to attack you- though I doubt that happening, you can just take his head for me, all right?"

"Yes, boss."

Xanxus smirked, and gave the shark an all but gentle pat on the back. "You'll be fine, shark trash."

"Thanks, boss," Squalo sighed, before turning to walk the other way. "Give me the files later. I'm going to go make everyone lunch.

* * *

><p>A while later... Bel, Fran and Jill had headed out, because Rasiel still had to go into work.<p>

"Here you go," Rasiel said, placing the plates on the table. "Sorry, guys, I know you already had lunch, but in case you're hungry, you can have that."

"Thanks," Fran replied, taking a fry and starting a staring contest.

"What are these, French?" Bel asked.

"American," Fran said. "They look like something that would go with a hamburger."

"Why's it called a HAMburger when it's made with beef?" Bel asked.

There was a moment of silence, and Rasiel shrugged. "How'm I supposed to know?"

"It was a decent question," Fran defended his lover. "Anyway, that's hardly important. Jill, get back to work, Bel and I are gonna discuss our... strategy..."

"Okay then," Rasiel replied, before walking off.

"Strategy, huh?" Bel asked, folding his arms and resting his head on them. "I don't wanna bother with thinking right now."

"We're up against the strategy CAPTAIN, Bel, if we don't go in with a plan, he'll dice us into cheese cubes, so get in the game!"

"Okay, okay," Bel sighed. "What are you looking at?"

"The french fry, what else?" Fran said.

"I thought you said it was America-"

"A lot of things in this world don't make sense, senpai," Fran said seriously.

"All right, so strategy," Bel started. "If Jill does happen to get the sword off of Squalo, then what are we going to do next?

"I guess we're gonna have to attack him?" the illusionist replied.

"Man, I don't wanna," Bel complained.

"You're going to have to," Fran said. "Seeing Squalo crawl back to headquarters on his stomach, bleeding his guts out is going to be enough to make Xanxus snap."

"Snap and kill us? Or snap and plead for us to come back?" Bel questioned, looking skeptical.

"More likely the former," Fran sighed. "But hey, this was your idea, so let's carry it out. Remember, senpai... we can do anything when we're together."

"Ushishi. That's right, Froggy."

-End Chapter

* * *

><p>This chapter's dedicated to you, MeekyMangaMonster! *gives cookie*<p>

A bit of the conversation near the end there was kind of 'Royal-any-before-Summer-ish.' Ne? All random and stuff...

Please, keep up the reviewin, people!


	14. Chapter 14: B26R versus Squalo

**A Royal End **

**Chapter Fourteen**

* * *

><p>The next day... Nighttime...<p>

"Ready, Jill?"

"Ready."

"Ready, Bel?"

"Always ready, Fran. You?"

"Hell yeah I am," Fran sighed, lighting his Hell ring. "Jill, get prepared to disarm."

"Right."

The three stood in preparation, waiting for Squalo to come out into the clearing they'd selected as their battle area. It wasn't long before he came through, but he stopped when he got in the center of the circle, giving Jill a priceless chance. The older prince ran out and grabbed the shark's fake hand, snapping off the sword with his andrenaline-powered grip.

"Rasiel?" Squalo questioned, hoping deep inside that Fran hadn't killed Bel to have his brother. ... That would suck!

"Shesheshe! You just sit pretty and let nature take its course, okay, shark boy?"

Squalo cowered when two men burst out of the bushes and rushed him, but the movement made both of them stop. "Squalo...?" Fran murmured, touching the swordman's shoulder. "Uh... Squalo?"

"Don't waste time, Fran, Bel, hurry up and get it over with," Squalo snarled. "I won't put up a fight, so do it before I change my mind. Don't tell me I have to attack to convince you two!"

Bel glanced at Fran, and nodded. "C'mon, Froggy. We have to."

"I'm sorry, Captain," Fran whispered.

"Go."

Fran sighed, and lit his Hell ring. "I'll be careful," he whispered, petting the swordman's hair.

"I'm fine, damn it, get it over with," Squalo sighed.

After neatly breaking several of Squalo's bones and stabbing multiple knives into him, prince and frog were feeling sick. Squalo was their friend, and yet they'd mangled him of their own selfish accord. "Squalo? You okay?" Fran murmured, placing a hand on his shoulder. The Rain guardian winced, and nodded, staring at the final knife in Fran's hand.

"One more, huh?" he whispered, "Read me that note before you stab me with it."

Fran sat down on the ground beside Squalo and untied the note, then read, "Xanxus, your second-in-command has fallen. Now is your last chance to let us back in the Varia before we attack the headquarters. Try to think of what it took to put these many wounds into the one you love."

Squalo laughed dryly at the word love. "That'll get him," he grunted. "All right, Fran, come on, I need to get to the infirmary..."

"Wait," Bel said, "there's something else I need to do first."

Squalo couldn't turn to look as Bel took a fistful of his hair, before slicing it down with a knife. The shark gasped when he felt what the prince was doing, and shouted, "Bel, you brat! Do you have any idea how long it took to grow this all out?" Bel grinned and hacked off the next piece, and the next, until Squalo looked much like what he did when he was seventeen. "BEL!"

"Ushishi~," the prince laughed.

"Senpai! Honestly, I told you we weren't gonna do that!" Fran complained. "Man, and the future Squalo I saw even had long hair."

"Maybe we're headed towards a different future," Bel giggled.

Squalo clenched his teeth, then, in a fit of rage at losing something he'd worked on for so long, swung his fist around and smashed it into Bel's face. "VOI! YOU FREAKING IDIOT!" he screamed, tears hanging in his eyes.

"Bel!" Fran called. Squalo then stood up, wincing on his broken ankle, and snatched his sword back from a hysterically laughing Rasiel, before walking away, Fran staring after him in pity. "Shishishi~," Bel giggled, "man, it was worth being punched to get rid of that stupid mane of hair he's always wearing~."

"Man, Bel, that was sooo funny!" Rasiel replied, grinning widely.

"It was NOT funny," Fran snapped. "You spoiled princes don't know what it's like to work so hard on something, and then lose it all..."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile...<p>

Squalo wiped at his eyes, then combed a hand through his hair, twitching when he felt how short it had truly gotten. That hair wasn't just hair, it was a promise. He'd promised Xanxus that he'd grow his hair out long until he achieved a dream, and now that dream seemed truthfully dead. "Damn it all," he muttered, "it doesn't matter now."

The shark did notice, however, that there was a lot less weight on his head now. Maybe it WOULD be a little easier to move about. To test his theory, Squalo whirled around, pointing his sword in the opposite direction, then stopped because he had turned so quickly. Disguising a smirk, the proud shark limped back to Varia Headquarters.

"Maa, Squ-chan, y-your beautiful hair!" Lussuria shrieked when Squalo came through the door. "What happened?"

"What do you think?" Squalo muttered. "Why aren't you in the infirmary? You should be resting, Luss."

"Boss made me come out here so that I could heal you when you get back."

"He figured out it was a ploy?" Squalo asked, "When did that happen?"

"Soon after you left. Mammon-chan actually let it slip. But the thing is, I can't even light my Sun ring right now; whatever poison those two used, it's still working to hinder my abilities."

"Huh," Squalo grunted, "Well, help me to the infirmary, then. I've got the note right here."

"By the way, Squ-chan, I could help you even out that hair."

"Nah, it's fine, it reminds me of my teen years, heh."

* * *

><p>Later...<p>

"Squalo..."

The name was breathed so softly that the swordman almost didn't hear it. But when he didn't respond to it, there was a gentle touch on his forehead, a hand that moved down, brushing against each of his wounds until it stopped at his stomach. Another weight eased on to the infirmary bed, and Squalo could feel a prescence getting closer, and closer, until lips brushed against his own, and he couldn't resist opening his eyes. An unusually gentle blood-red gaze stared back at him, and he reached up, and placed his sore hand on the other's back, returning the kiss in a tender way to uphold the current mood.

Xanxus soon backed up, and he whispered, "The hell did they cut your hair for?"

"I don't know," Squalo grunted. "But its not like you care, right?"

"Of course I care," Xanxus mumbled, blushing lightly. "I liked your long hair."

The boss lied down on top of Squalo, making the Rain guardian wince at the pressure on his body. "Xanxus, c'mon...," he protested, "you're not acting yourself... are you drunk?"

Squalo answered his own question when he saw the empty beer bottles next to the bed, and he wrapped his arms around Xanxus, murmuring, "It's okay, Xanxus. I'm still here."

"I... l...v.. y... sh...r... tr...sh."

"I love you too, boss."

Squalo smiled when heard faint snoring from the older man. He had always known how Xanxus felt.

* * *

><p>Morning...<p>

"Ugh... headache...," Xanxus groaned, rubbing his forehead sorely.

"Pfft. Damn boss, you reopened a couple of my wounds just getting OFF of me, I'm pretty sore."

"I can't control my drunk self, idiot shark trash," Xanxus spat back. The two looked into each other's eyes for a second, but as soon as their eyes met, they looked away. "Look, about last night," Xanxus began, "I meant everything I probably said. But this doesn't mean that I'm going to let those two back into the Varia- I can't forgive them for this. I'm going to go out tonight and find out where they're staying. If I manage to do that, I'm going to kill them."

"Xanxus, please, they're trying so hard," Squalo pleaded, "and doesn't the fate of the Varia depend on Fran rescuing Hibari eight years from now? Wasn't that cleared up over the summer?"

"I don't care," the boss lied. "Squalo, I don't want the Varia to go soft because of love."

"But the fact that they've defeated all of your 'heartless Varia' should be proof enough that they're strong enough."

"No. No, it's not," Xanxus muttered. "Mammon loves Bel, Levi loves me, you love me, and the freaking sun trash loves just about everyone. It's tainted the Varia already. If I'm to know for sure, I need to be the one to take them on."

"Okay, sure, but I thought you returned my feelings," Squalo snickered. Xanxus glared at him, then looked down.  
>"I do."<p>

Squalo nodded, and reached out, then held Xanxus's hand. "You've always been lonely," he whispered. "So why do you push away the one who loves you most?"

"Because Levi is freaking ugly-"

"I meant me, boss."

Xanxus fell quiet again. "I don't expect you to understand," he answered, before walking out of the infirmary room. Squalo sighed, closing his eyes.

"I don't understand, boss."

-End Chapter

* * *

><p>Not much of a fight, huh? Well, the finale is yet to take place! Everyone, please keep reviewing! :)<p> 


	15. Chapter 15: Into the Heart of the Boss

**A Royal End **

**Chapter Fifteen**

**Warning! If you are allergic to italicized words, read at your own risk.**

* * *

><p><em>The next day, nighttime...<em>

Xanxus lied in bed, his eyes closed tightly as he fussed in his sleep. He clenched his fists, quietly growling the name of the one he needed. Even in his dreams, things couldn't be pleasant.

_"Oi, Squalo!" Xanxus called. "Wait up!"_

_The swordsman only climbed higher, before reaching the top of the boulder, and looking down at the other, who was violently scrabbling at the rock with his fingers. "How the hell did you get up there?"_

_Squalo smirked, and reached down. "Need a hand, Xanxus?"_

_Although slightly offended, Xanxus took the Rain's hand obediently, and allowed the other to pull him up. "Check it out," Squalo said, pointing to the view that lied before them. Xanxus looked, and he gaped at the vast forests and mountains, the rivers, and the bird calls singing in the distance. "All of this will be mine someday," Squalo said. "Once I defeat the sword emperor, I'll take over the Varia, and I'll be able to have all of the Vongolian land!"_

_"... Hey, Squalo, tell me about the Vongola," Xanxus said, glancing up at the shark._

_"Oh, yeah, your father's Vongola IX...," Squalo murmured. "... Don't you know everything already?"_

_Xanxus shook his head, and looked down. "That jerk wants me to grow up like a normal child."_

_"Pfft. What a load of bull!" Squalo laughed, before suddenly realizing something. "Hey, there's something down there, do you see that?"_

_The swordsman was pointing to a stone in the ground, and Xanxus soon saw it, too. "What is that?" he wondered aloud._

_"We'll never know unless we check it out!" Squalo said, sliding down the boulder until he reached the edge of the cliff. Suddenly, he paniced. "Woah, this is steeper than I thought! X-xanxus, help me!"_

_The young man immediately started down the rocks, and he reached out to take Squalo's hand, but the other somehow lost his footing, and fell, and just kept falling, until he landed right beside the stone on the ground. With dream logic, Xanxus quickly ran over to the area, and stared at the stones in the ground. Two names were etched into one of them, written underneath, 'The true parents of Vongola IX's adopted son.' The other, to Xanxus's horror, read 'Superbia Squalo. Killed in a battle over the place of Vongola X. He never fulfilled his promise to Xanxus, because his hair was cut short just a couple days ago-'_

_Suddenly, everything went blurry, and Xanxus found himself thrown into a different scene from his memory. "Don't worry, Xanxus, I promise, I'll unfreeze you," spoke a kind voice. "I promise... if its the last thing I do, I'll save you from this... and I'll make sure you never feel so abandoned... so betrayed... I had no idea, Xanxus... but even if he doesn't love you... just know that I do... Know that I love you, boss, now and forever..."_

_'Squalo... without a doubt, that has to be you... your voice is so nice when you're talking to me like this... if only I could hear it forever... If only I could hear your words of comfort forever... I don't want to be trapped in ice forever... Squalo, please, save me...'_

_Forever unloved... treason will always find me... Even my own parents gave me up... and to a Mafia family, at that!_

_I'll never forgive them... I'll never forgive the ones who hurt me!_

_Am I that bad...? What did I do wrong...? Was I really just born into the wrong family... or is it all my fault?_

_Squalo... please..._

_"Voi, boss! I've grown my hair down to a foot already! This damn thing better not go on too long, or I'll end up looking like a chick!"_

_Xanxus glanced over at the younger man and smirked. "No way in hell I'm giving up my position," he chuckled. "... Squalo."_

_"What?"_

_"Let's build up an assassination squad better than anything else in the world," Xanxus said, looking into the silver eyes. "And let's make my sorry excuse for a father a proud man."_

_The other grinned widely. "You can count on me, you bastard," he chuckled._

_Every time I look at you, I have to stop myself from smiling..._

_Your hair grew out every year, and you'd always report to me its length on the same day every year... the same day that we'd met, so long ago... how the hell did you remember, Squalo? Why did you care so much about me?_

_Why is it that you reached out to me... when no one else did?_

_"Xanxus, there's something I need to confess to you," Squalo whispered, looking away._

_Oh, no... here it comes..._

_"You see, I've been thinking this for a while... but... I think it's about time that we... th-that we... uhm..."_

_'Go our seperate ways.' I just know he'll say that. I just know he's about to use his powers over me to break me... it makes sense, why would I have any friends, anyway?_

_"NO!" Xanxus shouted. "No. We won't be doing anything of the sort, Squalo! You're already a Varia! Don't get weak on me now!"_

_Squalo's face flushed red, and he closed his eyes when he was yelled at, before he said quietly, "Yes, boss. I'm sorry, boss. I won't suggest anything so... er... soft, ever again..."_

_"Damn right you won't! Now get the hell out of my office and keep looking for recruits, shark trash!"_

_Squalo nodded, and stood, before running out of the office, a small, but audible whimper leaving him before he bit down on his own lip to silence himself. Xanxus stared after the other, his blood-red eyes becoming gentle. "Even if I have to force him to stay... it's the only way I can avoid being lonely for the rest of my life, after all... Plus, I feel stronger when I'm around him. I can't let him leave... never..."_

_Never... Squalo will always be by my side... no matter what._

_But... now that I think about it... could he have been... about to say something else? He did react a little odd..._

_The hell did Squalo mean by... soft?_

Xanxus opened his eyes, and sat up, then wiped tiredly at his eyes.

He'd woken alone, and he wasn't happy about it.

* * *

><p>Later...<p>

Xanxus walked into the infirmirary, and walked over, before setting a plate on the nightstand. "Shark trash," he grunted. The swordsman didn't open his eyes. "... Oi, shark trash."

Still no response.

"... S-squalo?" Xanxus murmured, sitting down on the bed. "You all right? ... Hey, c'mon... say something..."

Xanxus placed a hand on the other's stomach and shook him gently. "Squalo... Hey, Squalo, wake up! Squalo!"

He moved both hands to Squalo's chest, feeling for a pulse. There was none, and he paniced. "Squalo! No, damn it, wake up! WAKE UP!"

"Shishishi, you're too late, boss."

"We've already gotten him... and you're next!"

GASP.

The boss of the Varia sat upright, then looked about him, his chest heaving with the nightmare. After calming, and reminding himself several times that he'd just woken up, he decided it was better to go to the infirmary.

The beds were softer, anyway.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile...<p>

"... Hey, Bel?" Fran said, moving his queen. "First of all, check, second of all, why are we doing this?"

"Hmm? 'Cause we've had nothing to do for the past couple of days that anybody hasn't seen before," his lover replied, looking up at the other. "So we're playing stupid BORED games to pass the time. Y'know?"

"Hey, Bel," Rasiel started, pointing at the prince's king piece. "Fran's got you in check-mate."

Fran looked back at the board. "Oh, yeah, I do. Check-mate, senpai."

Bel took the board and threw it across the room, shouting "Screw it, this game SUCKS!"

**-End Chapter**

* * *

><p>N'aww. After all that onesided Xan-tan fluff, I just had to have Bel make a funny.<br>I'm so bad.

PLEASE REVIEW!


	16. Chapter 16: Rise of the Loved

**A Royal End **

**Chapter Sixteen**

* * *

><p><em>A week later...<em>

"Fran, wake up, I need to show you something," Bel murmured to his kouhai, shaking him gently to wake him. Fran opened his eyes into a deadpan face, and clobbered Bel with a pillow before he would listen to anything the other wanted to say. After a few minutes, at which point he had the other pinned to the ground and was holding a pillow against his chest, Fran finally realized that Bel was being pretty patient with him this morning. In other words- it was important. The illusionist sat back.

"What?"

Bel grinned. "Well, if pervy Froggy would get off of me, I could show him," he said.

Fran got up, and put the pillow back on the bed. "Where's Jill?" he asked.

"Doesn't matter," Bel answered, holding out a blindfold. "I'm going to have to ask you to wear this."

Fran's eyebrows dropped considerably, but he didn't complain when Bel tied the blindfold around his head. He then felt a hand around his shoulders, and he began to walk with the prince, trying to resist the temptation to see through the cloth with his powers.

It took a long time to get out of the hotel, at first, and Fran could only tell they were out of the hotel because of the random gust of wind that greeted the both of them outside. Bel suddenly spun his kouhai around, as if to screw up his direction further, then started walking in what felt like a random direction to Fran. They continued like this for a while longer, until a point where Fran could hear water running, and he actually had to close his eyes beneath the blindfold in order to not look. Bel grinned and led him further, before stopping Fran, and untying the blindfold at last. Fran stared at the sight before him- a rather nice looking, even if small, house, and a river not so far from it. He looked at Bel.

"That work that you were doing... it was for this, right?"

"Yeah," Bel said, before hugging his kouhai tightly. "Now we've officially got this place in the forest, whether Xanxus lets us back in the Varia or not."

Fran returned the embrace thrice as enthusiastically, resting his head on the other's shoulder. "You're such a prince, senpai. I love you... I love you so damned much, I think I'm gonna pop."

"That would be bad for our relationship, Froggy," Bel murmured.

"Hey, guys!" called a familiar voice from an upstairs window. "Breakfast's on the table!"

Bel grinned, and walked over to the door, then opened it, dragging Fran in with him. "Ushishi! Jill, good work on the place- it looks great!"

Rasiel came downstairs, and joined the two. "Shesheshe. Working in that stupid cafe made me accustomed to commoner's chores."

Fran sat down at the table, unable to say anything from the majority of this 'pleasant suprise'. The princes soon sat down at the table as well, and Fran smiled more sincerely than he had in a few years. It would seem that he finally had a family.

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile<em>...

"I'm glad you're talking to me about it," Squalo said, rubbing the older man's back. "And you're right. Those years ago, I was going to confess that I loved you. I would never say anything about leaving the Varia, boss."

Xanxus nodded. "Thanks, shark trash."

"Squalo."

"Whatever."

The Rain guardian sat up, and hugged his boss from behind, whispering, "Look, boss, it's still me. The hair doesn't make the man, right? Don't worry, because I can grow it right back out. Right?" The Sky just gave another silent nod, so Squalo decided to push his luck a little further by bringing a hand up and turning Xanxus's chin until he could meet the boss in a kiss. Xanxus allowed it for a while, but he was the one to break it off.

"Squalo... uh... tomorrow, I'm going to go out to challenge Bel and Fran."

"Bel, Fran, and Rasiel, actually, and they're going to be attacking Hq," Squalo said, coming in to bite his boss on his neck.

"Damn it." Xanxus suddenly got up, leaving Squalo behind. "Sorry, shark trash, I've got to go practice a little more."

Squalo snorted, frustrated at the other for not picking up on his body language. "Well, boss will be boss," Squalo sighed, lying down again.

* * *

><p><em>The Next Day...<em>

"All right, senpai, its time," Fran murmured. "Let's go."

Bel, Fran, and Rasiel all let themselves in through the front doors of the Varia, and they weren't suprised when no one greeted them. "We split here," Bel said, "Jill, take the kitchen, Fran, you take the infirmary. I'll go straight to the bedrooms."

The three dashed into the different directions, and the battle officially began. Rasiel turned into the dining hall, then looked around, his eyes narrow. He didn't see the man in the room, at first, but they were fast to give themself away. "My! Look at that, you're really here!" Rasiel looked just in time to see the Varia's sun Guardian step down along the dining room table, before taking a small bow. "Name's Lussuria, the mother of the Varia~ Now, Rasiel, I'm already quite beaten up. But I still have some fight left! Come at me!"

Though slightly creeped out, Rasiel glanced around the room once more, before pointing into the kitchen. "Lunch's gonna burn. You blind?"

Lussuria glanced in the direction indicated, then gave an honest laugh, hopping off of his choice battle ring, also known as the table. "Only a little," he answered. "Are you not planning on fighting me?"

"I was gonna fight the boss guy, but since he's not here, how about I give you a few pointers on that rice over there?" Rasiel said.

"My! You're like a Bel-chan who can cook! Of course you may!"

Meanwhile, Fran had dashed into the infirmary, passed over the room with Levi, and the room with Mammon, before he found Squalo and couldn't resist stopping to chat. "Hey, how are you, fish-face?" he asked, walking in and sitting beside the Rain guardian. Squalo smirked, then reached up and embraced Fran, only slightly suprising him. "Okay, apparently we're better than normal," Fran said, hugging back.

"I'm so glad you're here," Squalo murmured, clutching the Mist's shirt tightly. "You have no freaking idea."

"How's Xanxus?" Fran asked quietly.

"Not good," Squalo answered, backing off. "Since all of the Varia are in the infirmary, he's been thinking more about 'love,' and it's screwing him up. He's on the verge of becoming the man he was before the 'cradle incident.'"

"What kind of man would that be?" Fran asked. The shark thought for a moment.

"First of all, he'll be lonely. Real lonely. And that'll inevitably make him unstable, and he'll become frightened by the thought of being hurt. Already, he's been sneaking into the infirmary to see me because he's starting to have nightmares. This isn't the first time, but the first time this happened, it was because he found out that his father had adopted him. You have no idea how devistated he was- of course, only on the inside. He kept it from everyone, but I found out. Do you know how I did?" Fran shook his head. "When he was fighting with Vongola IX, he told him how he felt. He told him how betrayed, how abandoned he had felt ever since he found out, simply because they never told him. Now, mind you, there was a whole lot of swearing mixed in there, but I knew that Xanxus was truly scarred by what had happened... and those scars are starting to reopen. Fran, if things continue with the Varia growing weak, he's going to break, and I don't think I can patch his wounds twice."

Fran nodded.

"Don't worry, Squalo, we'll handle him," he murmured, "and, uh... sorry about your hair."

"It's nothing," the Rain guardian sighed, looking down. "It hurts him more than it hurts me."

Fran nodded. He knew exactly who 'he' was. "Hey, I gotta go. Listen, Bel and I are going to fight Xanxus. Think we'll win."

Squalo bit his lip. "You can only win if you break him. I don't want to be the one to tell you to do this, but... use me. Tell him that he'll lose me forever if he doesn't let you two back in the Varia. Okay? But just... whatever he says... don't... don't judge him. He's had a really messed up life, so he's prone to expressing himself in some weird way, and I don't know what'll happen, but more than likely, it's going to shock you two. Don't lose any respect for him if he happens to break down into some really insecure and pathetic weakling, because you have no idea what it took him to get to this point."

Fran nodded. "No worries, Squalo. I've completely broken down in front of Bel before- that maniac went on a killing spree and I got lost in Hq- so I know what it's like. No garuntees for Bel, though."

The shark nodded. "Don't worry, Fran. If the Varia understand the darkness in Xanxus's soul, it can only bring us closer together. It's just as he said. Levi loves him, I love him, Mammon loves Bel, and Luss loves just about everybody. It doesn't matter if we're cruel killing machines on the outside, because it's-"

"What's on the inside that counts," Fran completed. "Haven't I told you, Captain?

_Bel stepped into the boss's bedroom, a knife in his hand._

"What?"

_"Shishishi... Any last words, boss?"_

"I hate cliches."

**-End Chapter**

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><p>And there's the buildup for the next chapter! :) Get ready everybody! We're gonna have a lot of emotional fluffy bloody battles in the next chapter! Hehehehehehehehehehehehe...<p>

PLEASE REVIEW!

Challenge for the engaged reviewer: Guess where Rasiel will be in the next chapter!


	17. Chapter 17: B26 versus Xanxus

**A Royal End **

**Chapter Seventeen**

* * *

><p>Bel stared at the man before him, then sighed, before repeating in a louder voice, "Any last words, Xanxus?"<p>

"Ugh..."

The man rolled over, sat up, and rubbed at his eyes. "Bel...? That you...?"

Bel stared in utter horror at the sight before him, and shielded his eyes. "Oh my god, Levi, put on some clothes," he said.

"The hell are you going on about? You know perfectly well that I sneak into boss's room when he's not around and crawl into his bed with no clo-"

"I'm out!" Bel said, dashing out of the room and slamming the door shut. "May Froggy never witness the horrors that go on in that room," he breathed, clutching his heart for dear life. After performing his mini-drama, Bel moved on, quietly telling himself that Xanxus had to be in the training room.

He soon reached said room, and entered, to see that the walls were blackened, smoke was just clearing, and in the center of the room stood Xanxus, pistols in hand. At the exact same time Bel entered, Fran had walked in on the other side of the room. Xanxus looked back and forth from Bel to Fran, then held out both his arms, and fired his two pistols at opposite ends in an attempt to end it quickly. Bel and Fran instantly ran into the room, and Bel took a dive for the ground as his lover lit his Hell ring.

Bel easily rolled back up to his feet, then rushed up to Xanxus and locked his arms around the older man's, and Fran quickly ran out in front of the other man. "Hold him still, senpai, he ordered, walking up close to Xanxus and placing a hand on his cheek. The other was immediately weirded out, and he lashed out his leg, but Fran stomped on his foot, immobilizing him. "Boss, are you going to let us back into the Varia?"

Xanxus shook his head fiercely, before swallowing, and choking out, "Freaking scum! I would never give in to you!"

"Would you give in to Squalo?" Fran hissed, before leaning up over the older man's shoulder to say, "You seen Jill?"

"No. Probably decided to make us a victory lunch. Ushishi!" Bel laughed. His lover smiled, and kissed the prince over their former boss.

"Let's finish this how we started it, senpai," Fran said, his breath assaulting Xanxus's ear as he struggled to free himself. "Let's end it together."

"Let's," Bel replied, before sweeping Xanxus's legs out from beneath him, tripping the man in less than a second. Xanxus hit the ground, and immediately, Bel stabbed the older man's arms, making him drop both pistols as he groaned in pain. A look of panic flashed in the older man's eyes as he realized how slowly his instincts were reacting.

Fran's demon tail tied the older man's legs as he leaned over and kissed Bel, and the older prince responded by sinking a knife into Xanxus's shoulder. Their former boss moaned with the pain, his eyes shut tight. "D-damn...," he hissed. "You two caught me tired and off guard!"

"We dodged your bullets, Xanxus, it's your turn to take the attack," Fran replied.

The older man snarled, then swung a leg up, nailing the illusionist in the side and sending him backwards with its force. Bel growled at the Sky, then rushed to Fran's aid. "You all right, Fran?" he asked.

"I'm fine- watch out!" the teal-haired man replied. "Xanxus's got a pistol back!"

"Flame of Fury!" Xanxus shouted, the scars stretching across his face as he fired his pistol, charging it with the Flame of Fury he had inherited from Vongola II. Bel shielded his lover, who immediately created an illusion of Squalo protecting the both of them. However, he had made the mistake of giving his illusion long hair- and that cost him the joke.

The bullet hit both of them directly, and the pressure of the flame slammed them backwards into the wall. Prince and frog groaned in unison, but when Bel reached out and took his lover's clawed hand, Fran was still able to manage a smile. "You all right, senpai?"

"Nah, but I'm half right," Bel answered. "One more hit like that and I'll have to go to Froggy heaven."

"Heh. Good luck getting in without paying the fee," Fran grunted, before wedging himself out of the wall and touching back on to the ground in sync with his senpai. "Hey, Xanxus! If you don't let us back in the Varia, Squalo says he'll leave you forever!" Xanxus didn't visibly waver, but Fran could sense his nervousness. "You'll be all alone again! Is that really what you want?" The older man simply stared at Fran, but the emotion in his eyes was starting to come through. "Do you want to be betrayed by the one you love? Abandoned by everyone who you care about?"

"Sh-shut up, Mist trash, I don't love or care about anyone!" Xanxus shouted, firing at the two spontaneously. Fran lit his Hell ring until his body was plated with steel, and he dashed in front of Bel in order to take the hits.

"You're gonna be all alone, Xanxus! And then you're gonna be weak, and useless!"

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Xanxus yelled, finally bringing out his Sky-Storm Liger. It was what Fran had been waiting for. Immediately, he took out a Box weapon that didn't belong to him, lit a Rain-class ring on his left index finger, and injected the flames into the box. When he held it back out, a massive shark burst out of the box, swimming in the air.

"Can you take this on?" Fran shouted. Xanxus was staring at the shark, stunned, but he soon dropped the shocked expression.

"Besta, attack it! What are you waiting for?" he snarled. The liger looked back and forth from Xanxus to the shark, then lied down and yawned, his tail sweeping across the ground. "The hell are you doing?" Xanxus shouted. The shark took a dive for Xanxus's liger, and picked it up in his jaws, and the liger simply started purring, making the leader of the Varia flush red with humiliation. "BESTA! KILL THAT DAMNED SHARK ALREADY!"

The shark placed Besta on the ground behind Bel and Fran and lied there beside it, snorting in a way that said quite plainly, "Darn it, boss, why must you be so cute?"

"Aw, how adorable is that?" Bel laughed. "You trained your liger to purr for Squalo's shark!"

"I did not!" Xanxus replied, but the red in his face said otherwise. "Besta freaking did that all on his own!"

"So tell me boss, do you make similar noises when the Strategy Captain is around?" Fran asked. "Or do you just snuggle up to him without saying anything?" Bel laughed hysterically with Fran poking fun at Xanxus, but the boss was not amused.

"STOP MESSING WITH ME, DAMN IT!" he shouted, getting both pistols out. "I'LL KILL YOU!"

"Hey, boss, how would you feel if I told you that I killed Squalo? After all, he doesn't just give his box to anyone..."

Xanxus stuffed his pistols in his pockets and walked up to Fran, then grabbed his collar. Bel, meanwhile, deciding to wait out the boss's actions until violence became involved, couldn't help himself from watching Xanxus's liger licking the Rain shark's face like a kitten. "You don't know what it's like," Xanxus hissed. "You don't know how I feel. So stop trying to act like a wise guy, or I will!"

"Will what?" Fran sneered, hitting his forehead against the older man's. "Don't you get it, boss? Squalo wants us back in the Varia. Isn't he the one who intended to have Bel in the Varia, anyway? Shouldn't you respect his decision? Speaking of, who, exactly, recruited me?"

"No one asked for you," Xanxus growled. "Mukuro Rokudo had had enough of you. He wanted you to be moved somewhere where he could avoid you."

"Now that's definitely a lie," Fran snorted. "Mukuro was under the impression that he loved me for a while, I'm pretty sure he didn't want to give me up. You were the ones searching for a Mist guardian."

"Do you have any idea how much I hate you, Fran?" Xanxus hissed. "You're the reason why Squalo didn't care when I broke up with him. He thought he could come running to you."

"And he could, cuz I'm a nice guy," Fran answered. "What if Squalo grows to not need you, Xanxus? What if he leaves you? What will you do?"

Xanxus trembled, then snarled, "I'll take this pistol, put it to my forehead, and shoot."

Fran stared, suprised at the older man, then whispered, "That's going to happen if you don't make Bel and I your guardians. Squalo doesn't need you alone. He needs a family. The fact that you don't know that must mean that you don't really know him, huh, boss?"

Xanxus tore a knife out of his shoulder, and threw it behind him. "You don't understand Squalo as much as I do," Xanxus said, though he was starting to seriously waver. "He'll get over it."

"Oh, just like you got over his sudden hairloss?" Fran snickered. "You're shaking, boss."

Xanxus closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, releasing Fran in the process. "I'm goddamned tired of the Varia's weakness. You two have been screwing up the Varia ever since stupid Mist trash got in a train crash."

"And that was Mammon's fault," Fran said. "The same Mammon who broke down in order to get back his lover. Who is still in the Varia. And Levi, who has been constantly stalking you for the sake of protecting you-"

"Who also does weird stuff in your room-" Bel began to add, but Fran interrupted him. By now, Xanxus was watching again.

"And Lussuria, who has cared for the Varia like a mother hen, making sure the lot of us get along, even though his own relationships haven't turned out the way he would have liked. Squalo, who loves you more than anything else, and would sacrifice his life if it meant you could live. Me, who's been picking up the Varia and tying a bow on our bonds with my seemingly pointless American jokes. Bel, who, through a juvenile personality, reminds us that our cruel, dirty lives can still have a touch of innocence and purity. You, Xanxus, who rules with an iron fist in order to destroy all of the true weakness in the Varia- guilt, sadness, frustration, and jealousy. In case you weren't already aware of it, we're a family. Sure, we're a pretty damned messed up group, but, it's like you always say. It doesn't matter if there's inner conflict. In times of attack from other forces, the Vongola always stand united!"

Bel applauded Fran's lecture, and Xanxus quivered, before turning around. "I know that," he whispered. "I know all of that. If I didn't, I wouldn't have let the freaking Sun trash live during the ring battles... I know how we work... its just..."

"What, boss?" Fran murmured.

"You really... just don't understand my feelings," Xanxus mumbled. "You don't understand how it is."

Fran placed a hand on Xanxus's shoulder, and glared at Bel's curious expression, which easily informed the prince to keep looking- and listening- in the opposite direction. "Boss, talk to me," Fran murmured. "Or, if you want to, show me. Just think of what you need to say... and I'll listen."

Once more, Xanxus closed his eyes, and Fran penetrated his thoughts. He could see Xanxus and Squalo as young men in their teen years, staring at a headstone that was informing the boss to-be that his father had adopted him. The look on Xanxus's face was genuinely one of a child who had been given up by their parents to a Mafia boss. The horrible and apalling idea made his expression twisted with disgust and shock. Beside him, Squalo wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "I'm sorry," he breathed. "I had no idea."

That was all Xanxus would show him, so Fran went back to the real world. "So Squalo's been comforting you since then, right?" he asked.

"The damned shark trash is all that I have," Xanxus said, his voice sounding like it was about to crack. Fran sighed, and carefully embraced the older man.

"No, boss, you're wrong. Cause no matter how hard you try to get rid of us," Fran started, "we'll always be by your side."

**-End Chapter**

* * *

><p>Tried not to make it too OOC while still making it sweet. :)<p>

Let me know if I succeeded; please review!

Btw, everyone who took the challenge was pretty much right. XP


	18. Chapter 18: All is Well

**A Royal End **

**Chapter Eighteen**

* * *

><p>Xanxus reached up and gripped his forehead, groaning quietly at what appeared to be an old headache returning with a vengeance. "You know what, Fran?" he murmured.<p>

"Yeah?" Fran said, waiting for the other to turn and face him. Xanxus continued to stand with his back to Fran and Bel, but the two were almost positive of what Xanxus would say before he even said it.

"I'll give you and your trashy prince trash a second chance, but if you screw this one up, I'm gonna blow your brains out... all right...?"

Fran smiled, and patted his boss on the back. "Thanks boss! C'mon, senpai, let's go find Jill!"

Bel followed when Fran began to walk away, and the two began to discuss the possibilities of that victory lunch being finished. Meanwhile, Xanxus looked back at his liger, snuggled up close to Squalo's shark, and walked over to the two. He knelt down, and stroked Besta's mane. "You freaking embarassed me, you know that?" Besta looked up at his boss, then rolled over, draping his paws around the shark in the process. "I told you not to freaking do that when other people were around, Besta!"

Xanxus waited for a response, then, when he saw that he was going to be ignored, shrugged and left the training area. "I'm at least not that clingy," he snorted, as he headed towards the infirmary to see Squalo.

* * *

><p>"All right, you get it now?" Rasiel asked. Lussuria chuckled.<p>

"Yes, Rasiel, I understand," he said, smiling widely. Being taught how to cook by Bel's maniac brother was just too funny of a situation for him to honestly focus. But then suddenly, a feminine ringtone alerted the both of them to an incoming call. Lussuria answered, just as Bel and Fran burst into the kitchen. As Rasiel went to join them, Lussuria said, "Hello~? Who is this?"

(Luss, it's me, extremely.)

"Oh- R-Ryo-chan?" Lussuria answered, dropping his voice to a murmur.

(I was extremely wondering if you were okay with getting back together, to the extreme.)

Lussuria, feeling as though he'd taken a sudden blow to the jaw, leaned against the counter for support, his breath hitching when he heard what Ryohei had said. First of all, he and the boxer had broken up a couple months ago- so why was Ryohei asking NOW of all times? Second, Ryohei had told him that there was someone else- a GIRL, who he wanted to date instead. What the hell happened to her? Third, the boxer had told Lussuria quite firmly that he was no longer intrested, that Luss was just 'too weird' for him. 'Too gay.' 'Too extremely feminine, for a guy.' Actually, it was because Ryohei had broken them up in a sort of mean way that Lussuria had been able to get over him, even with a little sorrow and confusion, of course.

(... This is extremely awkward. You still there, Lussuri?)

'Lussuri.' Ugh, the return of that tasteless nickname made Lussuria want to hang up then and there. But his attraction towards Ryohei kept him there, nervously gnawing on his lip. It was then that Squalo and Xanxus walked in to the room, and Mammon soon came in as well. Seeing his family in one place made Lussuria's nervousness take flight in an instant, because he knew then exactly what to say to Ryohei.

"Ryo-chan, I'm very, very sorry, but your actions in the breakup prove to me that I really am too much for you. Hehe~ Also, just, by the way, the Varia need me. I can't be going to Japan all the time anymore, because I'm the mother of the Varia, and I need to keep everyone united. Do you hear me, dear?"

(... Eh. All right, whatever to the extreme... By the way, this was extremely a prank ca-)

Lussuria hung up, and walked over to the table where everyone had been gathering. He hugged Bel and Fran tighter than he ever had before, even though the healing wound on his hand made that a difficult task. "I'm so glad you two are back," he murmured.

Fran patted the Sun guardian on the back, whereas Bel couldn't bring himself to return an ounce of the affection Lussuria was showing for the both of them. "We're back, Luss," Fran murmured.

Lussuria smiled. He could handle that nickname.

"VOOOI! LUSS, HURRY UP AND GET LUNCH DONE!" Squalo screamed.

"But of course!" Lussuria said, bustling back into the kitchen. However, seeing that he'd completely burnt what he and Rasiel had worked on while he was talking to Ryohei, Lussuria took the rice off of the fire and started working to make pancakes instead- after all, they were his specialty.

"Hey, Rasiel," Xanxus said, sitting back in his chair as he looked at the older of the two princes. "I was wondering if you were intrested in joining the Varia as well."

Rasiel thought for a while, then shook his head. "Can't. I've got work. But since I helped Bel pay off that new villa, I suppose I'll be dropping by every so often. Still, I won't be able to go on assignments unless they're short, need a storm, and Bel's not available. After all... fighting's not really my thing so much now... I can, but it's just... not as fun as cooking."

"I couldn't agree with you more!" shouted Lussuria from the kitchen. He was ignored, and everyone looked up when Levi walked into the room. Xanxus immediately got out a pistol and pointed it at Levi.

"Go outside," he ordered. "No pets at the table."

While everyone was laughing over their boss's epic humor, Levi blushed at being called Xanxus's pet, and walked back outside, but not after winking at the Sky. After getting over the awkwardness of the situation, Squalo elbowed Xanxus's arm. "Hey, want to tell the rookies about last night, boss?" he said with a smirk.

"No, I don't," Xanxus snapped.

"We're back to being rookies?" Fran whined. "Noooooo!"  
>"I'm not a rookie, I've been here for... uhh..." As Bel began to count on his fingers, Squalo leaned over the table, and started talking about this 'last night.'<p>

"So this guy (he jabbed his thumb at Xanxus) crawls into my bed at like three in the morning, drunk, and snuggles up to me like a freaking teenager, mumbling something along the lines of 'don't you leave me Squalo, I think I'd die.' And then he belches really, really loudly right in my face," Squalo said. Bel, Fran and Mammon all started laughing, while Xanxus took the nearest wine glass and smashed it on the shark's head. Squalo laughed, saying it was worth the wine glass to tell his comrades about it.

Lussuria soon came back out of the kitchen, and placed specially made pancakes in front of everyone. Bel got a bell, Fran a frog, Squalo a shark, Xanxus a heart- which he flatly refused to eat-, Rasiel a knife, and he tossed Levi a lightning bolt outside, not minding when it landed right on the other's face. Mammon, however, couldn't figure out what his own was, and asked Lussuria for assistance. Lussuria walked back to the table, and smiled.

"What else, Mammon-chan, it's your viper~."

Mammon sighed, and started eating, and Lussuria sat down at the table as well, just happy to watch everyone. Besides, he'd eaten earlier, with Jill.

"A long time!" Bel shouted.

"Huh?" Fran said.

"So I shouldn't be referred to as 'rookie,'" Bel completed, grinning.

A chuckle rose around the table, when suddenly, Xanxus spoke up. "If you guys want to hear a funny story, let me tell you about the time I tricked Squalo into thinking that Fran was from Atlantis."

"Ooh, boss never participates; I wanna hear this!" Mammon announced.

"Wait, you said WHAT about me?" Fran said.

"It was about a week after Fran had joined the Varia, and I was talking about his progress to Squalo, when I suggested the fact that Fran was damn freaky with his teal hair and eyes, and then I said that he was more like frog than anything else. that's what sold it," Xanxus began. "Our conversation kind of escalated until I shouted that the damned illusionist was probably from Atlantis, and you should've seen Squalo's face- he thought I was serious!"

Squalo interrupted the older man there. "I did NOT think he was actually from Atlantis, I thought you'd lost your head!" he screamed, blushing.

"Oh, no, you believed me," Xanxus said, folding his arms. "You were like, 'Wow, boss, I think you're on to something!'"

By now almost all of the Varia were laughing, except for Levi, who didn't hear the conversation to begin with.

It was one of the most cheerful days any assassination squad had ever had.

* * *

><p>"So, Froggy, Jill's going to move in to that place by the river," Bel said, "I said he could because he's done so much, and he DID help me work to pay it off."<p>

"Bet he loved that," Fran snickered.

"Anyway, I was wondering," Bel said, kneeling before the illusionist. Fran blinked.

"Yes, senpai...?"

"Fran... will you marry me?" the prince asked, holding out one of his Storm rings. His lover smiled, and knelt down beside him, reaching out to caress the prince's cheek.

"Sure, senpai, I don't see why not," Fran said. "Just... seriously, I'm not getting in a dress and saying 'I do' in my uke voice, in front of a bunch of other people. All right?"

Bel giggled, and got a dress out of the closet. "That's okay... you can do that right here, right now."

Sighing, Fran flopped down on the bed. "Too tired. Maybe tomorrow. Give me the ring?"

The prince pouted, but obediently gave the ring to his lover. "Ne, Froggy," he murmured, "what do you think it would be like to adopt a k-"

"No," Fran said immediately. "I don't want to have to go through something like that... can we stop discussing this and go to bed?"

"Depends," Bel replied. "Do you mean go to bed and sleep, or go to bed and do something else?"

"Uhh...," Fran thought for a moment. "I mean go to bed and sleep." The blonde groaned, squishing his head into a pillow, and Fran sighed, pulling up the covers. "Maybe tomorrow, senpai."

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile<em>...

"Hey, shark trash," Xanxus called. "You got your box weapon back, right?"

Squalo stopped trying to tame his short hair, and walked over to the boss. "Yeah?"

"You know how close Besta is to that thing, right?"

"Hell yeah I do," Squalo answered, sitting down on the bed beside Xanxus. "Is there something you're concerned about?"

"Well... I'm just wondering," Xanxus began, "if you think they're as close as us."

Squalo laughed, and reached to hold his boss's hand. "They do say that the box weapon reflects its owner's feelings."

Xanxus blushed, thinking of how Besta had purred for Squalo's shark, and he immediately vanished under the covers. "Nevermind, conversation over," he said, placing his box weapon on the night stand. Squalo chuckled and placed his box right beside Xanxus's, then embraced the older man, quietly telling him that it was all okay now.

"I told you, boss... I'm never going to leave you... so there's no need to be afraid... I'm here..."

Xanxus rolled over, purposely punching Squalo in the side. "Stop treating me like an insecure weakling," he growled. Though a little suprised, the Rain guardian smirked at his boss and held him closer.

"Sorry, boss. Sometimes, it's really tempting. Heh."  
>"Don't make me shoot you."<p>

* * *

><p>"Report number 69,182,759," Mammon began as he typed on the computer. "Fran and Bel have rejoined the Varia, and Xanxus has better realized his affections for Squalo. Meanwhile, I have gone through four eight-gigabite memory cards reporting the subject, but I think I've finally made a breakthrough. I've discovered that happiness can't be found simply by collecting money, even though I've always thought so. I also learned that love isn't always the answer, for somehow, Lussuria and Levi are happy, even though neither of them have had a fairly good life. I've given up on my pursue for Belphegor since observing this, and already, I find myself in a better mood. I'm hoping that this research will one day lead to enlightenment in future generations. Knowing that my knowledge is helping the future... I believe I've found my happiness, as well."<p>

Mammon saved the report, and leaned back in his chair.

"All is well."

-**Owari**

* * *

><p>N'aw, look at me, ending it with Mammon...<p>

Well, this is it, everybody, and sorry for not having a final acknowledgement- I can't name all of you!  
>But thank you one and all for reviewing and following, it's been a lot of fun, and I can promise more B26 fanfictions in the future! (I basically just told you to put me on Author Alert, by the way. XD)<p>

**REVIEW OR BE B26'd TO DEATH!**


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